Freedom Planet 1. Milla's Wish

_**Users of Fan Fiction. Net...the unthinkable has happened...I am NOT writing a Sonic story this time! Yes, for once, I'm writing something COMPLETELY un-Sonic related! About time too...I write too much Sonic. ^^;**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new story of mine as I tackle the wonderful world of Stephen DiDuro's hit independent platformer game, Freedom Planet! And since it's so close to Christmas, what better way than to celebrate it with a CHRISTMAS Freedom Planet story? :D You know, I have a feeling this may or may not be the FIRST ever Christmas fanfic about Freedom Planet...**_

_**Anyways, Merry Christmas my readers and I hope you enjoy the story! :D**_

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**December the 22nd, only three days until Christmas…**

_Chapter 1: Milla's Wish_

The majestic world of Avalice couldn't be more ready for the winter season that had approached the planet. The weather was turning much colder and skies were beginning to become grey more often with very few spells of sunshine to break them up. It was also becoming darker much sooner in the day than it was before. If anybody on the planet couldn't tell it was winter now then Mother Nature decided to send them another signal that it was indeed the winter season. The day before, snow had fallen and all throughout the night, blankets upon blankets of gleaming, white, crunchy snow had built up all throughout the three kingdoms of Avalice.

These kingdoms were Shang Tu, Shang Mu and Shuigang. Shang Tu was the blue kingdom ruled by the very mysterious Magister, who was mysterious in the sense that nobody really knew what his true face looked like. Only his eyes were ever visible. The trademark blue colours of Shang Tu seemed very fitting for all the snow that lay around the kingdom.

Shang Mu was the red kingdom led by the narcissistic but decidedly short and even shorter-tempered Mayor Zao. He was ecstatic about the winter season for many people in his kingdom came flocking to his shopping centres to shop for the winter season. One would suspect that winter was his favourite season for this very reason.

Shuigang was the green kingdom ruled over by Prince Dail, a young boy who had unfortunately been forced to take the title of "king" prematurely after his father had been brutally murdered by the vicious alien overlord, Lord Brevon. It had taken Dail a long time to recover from everything that had been done to him and despite some setbacks, he was slowly but steadily accepting the fact he was now king and had to rule over Shuigang. He was all too happy about the fact the man that had murdered his father had been beaten and decided to honour his passing by taking up the mantle of king. So far, he had managed to keep control over Shuigang very well but he still couldn't quite reel in his criminal brother, Spade. He hoped to arrest the panda one day and put him behind bars for all the crimes he and his gang, the Red Scarves, had done over the years.

All three kingdoms were teeming with life, colour and the kingdoms had a mixture of Chinese and Japanese architecture and design that gave them all their unique and grand appearances. Long ago, these kingdoms had been made by the people of Avalice after being captivated by the grace and beauty of a dragon that had later become the primary source of power for the world, the legendary Kingdom Stone. The stone had recently changed form, no longer just a mere stone now but a spiralling vortex of twinkling stars that always appeared at nightfall. This had helped to solve the energy crisis that had fallen upon Avalice after the atrocities that had been committed by Lord Brevon in his attempt to leave the world. It had been several months since Lord Brevon had been defeated and Avalice was in a state of peace, more so than it had been in a long time mostly due to the fact that the Kingdom Stone's energy was forever evenly divided between kingdoms, giving them all the energy needed to survive. But there was another reason for the peace on Avalice. It was December time now and everybody on Avalice was getting ready for the most wonderful time of the year…Christmas.

It had been on the month of December when the dragon that had inspired the kingdoms of Avalice had transformed into the Kingdom Stone. The celebration of Christmas, which occurred exactly on Day 25 of the month of December, was held in order to honour the dragon's transformation into the generous artefact that had kept them alive for many millenniums. Christmas celebrations on Avalice consisted of giving and receiving presents to loved ones, grand feasts held to honour the legendary dragon and the Kingdom Stone and a gathering of all three kingdoms to form a circle around a large Christmas tree with a dragon on top of it to sing and pray for the magnificent beast that had inspired their grand homes and states of living. Christmas was the time of year that all people on Avalice greatly enjoyed and now it was coming again. In just three days, the people of Avalice would rejoice and celebrate Christmas once again, something that Avalice always enjoyed no matter how many times they celebrated it.

The freshly fallen snow that covered most of Avalice was seeing some enjoyment on this very day. Three young girls were outside and playing in the snow with each other. These three were no ordinary Avalicians. One of them was a purple skinned dragon whom was considered very special just for being a dragon, the very creature that had become the legendary Kingdom Stone a long time ago. The dragon had long twin stands of whippy tendrils that to her, were stands of "hair". Despite their harmless looking appearances, they were not just features that complimented the dragon's appearance. They were lethal weapons that she could use to deadly effect. Her name was Lilac and she was with her two friends, Carol the Wildcat and Milla the Hound. Carol was green-furred with a red neckerchief that acted as one of her trademarks and she was a tough, no-nonsense tomboy who could fight brilliantly and even rode a motorcycle. Milla was a white furred hound with brilliant orange hair and long ears that could be used for semi-flight. She didn't like wearing shoes, even in cold weather such as winter and as she played with her friends, she was still barefooted. Milla was the sweetheart of the trio and Lilac often saw her as like the little sister she never had. Together, the trio had stopped the nefarious Lord Brevon from making off with the Kingdom Stone when he had unfortunately crash landed onto the planet months ago. Though Brevon had left his mark on poor Milla after mutating her into a hideous creature and forcing her to fight against Lilac. Lilac had defeated Brevon though his body had never been found, suggesting he was likely still around and waiting to have his revenge.

Such thoughts were not currently present in the minds of the girls. Lilac, Carol and Milla were having too much fun in the frosty, white snow to think about Brevon. Dressed warmly in thick coats, gloves and boots (except for Milla), the girls were making the most of this beautiful winter day. The snow had also gotten them more excited about the fore coming Christmas celebration for they enjoyed, as many people would label it, a "White Christmas". Snow often fell regularly during the winter season on Avalice so throughout December, Lilac, Carol and Milla could enjoy many a day of winter fun and snow-related activities. Milla was currently building a snowman, rolling up huge balls of snow and piling them on top of each other to make the familiar figure of the snowman. She had already rolled up the base of the snow-made figure and was now picking up another ball of snow to put on top of it for the body. As she built the snowman, Lilac and Carol were having a snowball fight. The fight went on completely unnoticed by the hound as she made her snowman. The dragon and cat rolled up balls of snow of took aim, ready to throw them at each other. Lilac was in a defensive position and aiming directly at her best friend's head. She always enjoyed aiming for the head, she thought it was funnier when the snowball hit somebody smack in the face. Carol was aiming straight at Lilac's stomach, hoping that her hit would distract the dragon long enough for her to throw another snowball and hit her. But Lilac, being super fast like dragons on Avalice are, threw first. Her snowball whizzed through the air like a cannonball and hit Carol smack in the face. Carol gasped and staggered backwards as the snowball hit her. It felt like she had been punched in the face with a fist made of snow. The wildcat was so surprised that she accidentally dropped her own snowball, giving Lilac the chance to throw another one at her. Carol was wiping snow off her face as Lilac's second snowball struck her on the side of her head. The blow was hard but it was somehow made even worse by drops of snow trickling down her neck and under her coat. The lilac-skinned reptile could hardly contain her hysterical laughter as her best friend began to do a crazy dance from the cold snow making her skin crawl.

"AIIIIIEEEEE! THAT'S FREEZING!" squealed Carol frantically, trying to wipe the snow out from under her coat to warm herself up again.

"Of course it's freezing, it's snow Carol! Frozen water remember?!" giggled Lilac.

"Why are you such a good shot at these snowball fights?!" the green-furred feline whined indignantly, "I hardly ever get a good hit on you! Do you have some secret tactic or something?"

"Nah, I'm just naturally that good." sneered Lilac, winking cheekily at her friend, "Oh and by the way, whining on the battlefield's never a good idea."

She then proceeded to back up her words by throwing another snowball at Carol. But she had warned her friend about her gaff on purpose so that Carol could dodge the attack. Lilac was a woman of fair-play and liked to give Carol the chance to hit her just to be fair to her. Carol ducked, the snowball whizzing straight over her head. It had missed her by centimetres. The cat considered herself lucky to have reacted fast enough. Carol rolled up a ball of snow with her gloved hands and stood up. But Lilac had already thrown another snowball. The white, frosty sphere zoomed through the air and slammed into the back of the cat's head. Growling mutinously, Carol spun around and threw her snowball at the dragon. Lilac anticipated the attack and she spun around, swinging her trademark tendrils around her. The tendrils hit the snowball, preventing it from coming anywhere near her head, which had been the target of Carol's snowball. The wildcat frowned in annoyance as Lilac laughed at her again.

"Hey! That's cheating!" whinged Carol.

"Since when was there a rule against using your hair to stop a snowball from hitting you?" snorted Lilac.

Her response was a snowball in the face. Carol had taken advantage of what Lilac had warned her about earlier. Talking during a battle gave the opponent a chance to attack. Lilac had made the mistake of talking during the fight so Carol had snowballed her. The neckerchief wearing cat seemed visibly happy to have finally hit Lilac with a snowball. She punched the air triumphantly as Lilac wiped snow off of her face.

"Yes! Got you!" squealed Carol excitedly.

"Yeah, that's only the third time you actually hit me in this fight." retorted Lilac, smirking at her feline comrade, "Three compared to the twenty snowballs I'VE hit you with."

There was a smug smile on the dragon's pretty face as she said that.

"I'm getting better aren't I?" protested Carol, "I mean, before I couldn't hit you with even ONE snowball! Three's better than nothing isn't it?"

"Darn straight." agreed Lilac, "Oh well, let's call it a draw shall we?"

Her response was another surprise snowball to the face. Carol had decided to throw it just for a laugh and also to show her reptilian friend that she could catch her off-guard no matter how fast she was. It had certainly worked. Lilac was staring at Carol, her face covered in snow, as if she was amazed at what had just happened.

"NOW let's call it a draw." sneered Carol triumphantly, pleased to have had at least one more hit before the game was over.

"Good sneak attack Carol." Lilac praised delightedly, "Something like that will be very useful to us somewhere down the line."

"Like if we ever meet those jerky Red Scarves again." muttered Carol bitterly, folding her arms and scowling as the horrible thought of the evil group crept into her mind.

Lilac nodded slowly. Her mouth curled downwards into a bitter scowl. She and Carol had once been members of the Red Scarves and whenever they thought about it, it always made the two feel nothing but hatred and contempt. It had been fun at first but then Spade had crossed a line that they didn't cross. He had committed a murder, something Lilac and Carol couldn't live with so they had willingly abandoned the wicked Scarves, leaving them to continue their evil crimes without them. They had been much happier since their days with the Scarves but their name was still enough to spoil the mood for them whenever they were brought up.

"Well, don't worry about those jerks." muttered Lilac, "The Red Scarves won't be causing any trouble for us anytime soon. Especially since it's nearly Christmas." she added brightly.

"I know! And I'm going gaga about it already!" quipped Carol excitedly, "I wish Christmas would hurry up! I can barely wait three more days for it!"

"Ha, ha, you get more and more excited about it every year don't you?" laughed Lilac casually.

"Duh." replied Carol as if the answer to that question should have been obvious.

"I love Christmas too." said Lilac brightly, "It's just such a wonderful time of year. Goodwill to Avalician kind, great parties, gifts to give and receive and of course, the big prayer we give to the dragon that blessed us with the Kingdom Stone, it's just so awesome!"

"I sure hope I get those motorbike snow tyres that I put on my present list." said Carol, putting an arm around her purple skinned friend, "I'd love to actually be able to tear through the snow on my motorcycle for once."

"I'm sure you'll get them at long last Carol." said Lilac with a wink, "You never know who might give them to you…"

"Hey Lilac! Hey Carol! Come see my adorable snowman!" squealed the adorable Milla, leaping up and down with excitement and catching her friend's attention.

The dragon and cat had been so into their conversation that they had nearly forgotten about the little puppy. This would be their first ever Christmas with the sweet hound and they were looking forward to seeing how Christmas with Milla would feel. Lilac and Carol ran over to their friend and Milla gleefully showed the two her snowman that she had been building the whole time they had been talking and snowballing. The snowman looked pretty well built with a strong sturdy base to support the weight placed atop of it and the proportions being pretty much perfect. The snowman was the same height as Milla and had three sticks in it. Two sticks acted as its arms and the third stick was its nose. Milla didn't have a carrot so she had used another stick for the nose. She had dug up some pinecones to use as eyes and had drawn a smile on the snowman's face. Lilac and Carol both smiled appreciatively at the hound's handiwork. They had to admit, it was very good, even for a snowman built by a child.

"Wow, that's amazing Milla!" cried Carol, "You could win a snowman contest with that!"

"Hee, hee, hee! Thank you Carol." said Milla sweetly, "His name's Olaf and he likes warm hugs." she added.

"Olaf, what a lovely name for a snowman." said Lilac brightly, "And he likes warm hugs? Why don't we all hug him and make him feel warmer?"

"Not too warm." laughed Carol.

The girls gathered around the snowman and hugged it as if it was an actual person and not just something made out of snow. If the snowman could feel anything, it would be feeling very warm with the three Avalicians hugging it like that. The girls themselves were feeling cold from pressing themselves against the icy figure they were embracing. The snowman would likely feel warm from their body heat but its own body heat wouldn't do the same for them. Lilac suddenly shivered and let go of the snowman.

"Brrrr…" the dragon's teeth began to chatter as she tried to speak, "I-I d-d-dunno a-about the-the snowman b-but I'm g-g-getting chilly."

"I b-bet the s-snowm-man's w-warmer th-than we are n-now." shivered Carol, rubbing her arms to get some warmth back into her.

"L-let's g-g-go back i-into th-the t-Treehouse." Milla stammered, "I-I-I'm g-g-getting c-c-cold now."

"We a-all are." said Lilac, "H-hey, wh-when we g-get back inside, l-let's p-put up the C-Christmas tree!" she suddenly suggested excitedly.

"Awesome!" cried Carol agreeably.

"I l-love p-putting up C-Christmas Trees!" piped Milla, "P-please c-c-can I p-put the d-dragon on t-top?"

"Sure Milla." said Lilac kindly, "It's y-your f-first Christmas with us. You c-can p-put the dragon on top."

"It's not a Christmas t-t-tree w-without a d-dragon on top." said Carol.

In order to get out of the cold, the girls quickly ran over to the Treehouse that they could actually call home. To Lilac and Carol, it was the only thing they could call home since they had no real houses to live in. They were too poor to afford a house so they lived outside of society in a solidly built Treehouse that Lilac herself had designed and constructed. The Treehouse was two-stories large and about the size of a normal house. The thick tree that it had been built atop of was able to support it with ease, the surrounding branches carrying all of the weight around the house and keeping it well in place. The house had built-in electricity so the girls had a working television and working radiators for the winter months. The girls climbed up the ladder and into the Treehouse. Once they were inside the Treehouse, they could begin the decorating and Lilac was already imagining how beautiful her Treehouse would look with the Christmas decorations up…

* * *

While Avalice was looking forward to another Christmas, there were some people who were looking forward to Christmas…for all of the wrong reasons. Deep in a hideout, which was located in the drainage tunnels of the blue-coloured kingdom of Shang Tu, a sinister group of Avalicians was gathering together and preparing for something. The group all wore black ninja outfits that concealed their faces, bodies and any features that would make them easily recognizable for anybody who spotted them. They all wore something that made them recognizable as members of a group. That something was a red neckerchief. The group was called the Red Scarves. The Red Scarves hadn't been very active after the events of Lord Brevon's manipulations of the kingdoms and the evolution of the Kingdom Stone. Now they were planning something and they were planning something BIG. Nobody knew what they were doing down in the hideout. Nobody knew where they were in all of Avalice. To them, it was like the scarves just appear from nowhere and then commit their sinister crimes which could be burglary, robbery or even straight up murder. Then after their crimes were committed, they suddenly disappeared and never showed up again until they were ready to commit a crime again. Since Christmas was approaching, the Red Scarves had a perfect opportunity for their next crime. Christmas offered so much for them to steal that the scarves' next operation would be a raid. And it would be a raid bigger than anything they had ever executed before. One of the scarves was walking through the hallway and to a room where only the invited where ever allowed in. He wasn't dressed in a ninja outfit like the others were. He wore a red neckerchief like his comrades but he also wore a black vest, brown trousers and black boots. Perched above his emerald green eyes were red sunglasses that wouldn't be needed in the dull, grey outside up above. He was a panda and his name was Spade. He was the one who had crossed a line that Lilac and Carol refused to cross and because of him, they had abandoned the Red Scarves. He was related to royalty although he had no chance of ever being placed upon the throne of Shuigang. Spade sniffed at royalty and only had any interest in them if he was robbing them. Prince Dail had been trying to arrest his brother but try as he might, Spade always alluded him and the guards of Shuigang. Now Dail was king, Shuigang was more determined than ever to catch Spade. The panda was in hiding along with the other scarves so as of this moment, there was no chance of him being found out.

Spade knocked on the door of the room he was approaching and waited for an answer. The door was huge and the room behind it was even more so.

"Come in." answered a deep, sinister but feminine voice.

Spade opened the door and walked in. He didn't see why he had to knock before entering this room. He was second in command of the Red Scarves. He should have all the freedom he deserves and not have to keep his manners for their leader's sake. The door closed behind him and Spade found himself shrouded in semi-darkness. A dim light prevented the entire room from being in total darkness. The deadly murderer approached a figure sitting in a golden throne that had been stolen from Shang Mu a long time ago and he bowed down graciously.

"Good morning Natalya." said Spade politely.

Natalya was a mysterious woman, even to her own disciples. Nobody knew what she really looked like. Natalya wore a black long coat and a leather bodysuit that covered every inch of her body. She had heavy, chunky shoes and she wore a helmet with a large, round lens for her to see out of. Nobody could see through the lens, leaving her face a mystery to anybody who saw her. The only distinctive thing about Natalya's appearance a long, scaly ponytail that reached down to just under her bottom. The ponytail was a mauve colour, suggesting she had mauve skin and the fact it was scaly indicated she was reptilian. Many thought she was some kind of lizard or even a crocodile. But nobody knew what species Natalya really was. She was the leader of the Red Scarves and she carried out her job with dedication that few others had matched. She was utterly ruthless and deadpan to the point of looking bored no matter what she did. Spade would never admit it but there was something about the trench-coated woman that just made him feel uneasy. She seemed almost inhuman. How Natalya achieved this was beyond the panda's realm of comprehension. But Spade didn't let that thought creep into his mind as he waited for Natalya to reply to him.

"Good morning Spade." muttered Natalya, her voice stoic and emotionless. Spade had once wondered if Natalya even knew what emotions were and if so, what had caused her to be so emotionless.

"The Red Scarves all approve of your plan." explained Spade, "The Christmas Raid has everybody's willing support and when the time is right, we will carry out the raid on all three kingdoms."

"Excellent." replied Natalya, although her voice betrayed any possibility of enthusiasm that the word itself carried, "Shang Mu, Shang Tu and Shuigang will know what it's like to tangle with the Red Scarves. This raid will make us all richer than ever before and maybe we'll be able to remove all the leaders of the kingdoms…and place a scarf or two in their places. The scarves will rule over everything and Avalice will be ours. We will begin tonight…starting with Shang Mu. We will raid Shang Mu and kill that idiot Mayor Zao. Then tomorrow on the twenty-third, we raid Shang Tu and kill the Magister. And then we give Avalice a Christmas to remember when we remove your foolish brother from Shuigang's existence on the twenty-fourth. Then on Christmas Day itself, we will replace the fallen leaders and we will rule over all of Avalice."

"Indeed Natalya. Though I'm not sure if I could carry out the task of murdering my own brother…" murmured Spade unsurely. He had tried to find out who had murdered his father during Lord Brevon's tyranny so it would seem rather strange of him to suddenly kill his own brother.

"Oh Spade…you should know better than to be sentimental." sighed Natalya, "Sentimentality is a weakness and if you let it get to your head…you will be a completely different person."

"I know…but do remember how I spent most of the alien invasion trying to find out who killed my father." noted Spade, "It…wouldn't make sense if I suddenly turned on Dail."

"I'll tell you what didn't make any sense." snapped Natalya, "You caring about who killed your father. The scarves do not care about anybody. Dare show anymore signs of sentimentality and I'll have YOU killed. Do you understand Spade?"

There was a bitter coldness that made her words feel like icicles plunging through a heart. Spade shivered uncomfortably as Natalya gave him the threat. He knew better than to give his leader an excuse to kill him. He wasn't interested in dying anytime soon so he decided to give Natalya a reason to spare him.

"Yes Natalya…I'm sorry Natalya." he muttered.

"Sorry does not make everything better little boy." said Natalya coldly, "You will assassinate Dail on Christmas Eve, no questions asked. If you refuse then heaven forbid what I have in mind for you."

"I won't refuse, I'll do it." said Spade grimly, not really pleased to hear himself saying those words, "So who will kill Zao and the Magister?" he asked curiously.

"I'll decide on that nearer the time." explained Natalya, "Although I'm thinking that Miguel and Lela would be adequate for a job like this. I'll probably give them the task of killing Zao. Until the raid comes, we will remain in hiding. Once the twenty-second is here, we commence with the raid."

"Understood." said Spade, "Goodbye for now Natalya."

"Goodbye Spade. And remember…you don't want to be punished for failing if you dare fail your mission on Christmas Eve…" the woman snarled viciously.

The panda nodded slowly. Natalya was always true to her word. If she was punishing somebody, she never relented. She also never made hollow threats. If she made a threat, she made a threat and she never backed out of it. She carried it out with ruthless efficiency. Spade got up to his feet and he walked out of the room. As he left, he felt like Natalya was watching his every step. Time spent with this woman had had an effect on him. Natalya was such a scary leader that he even had bad nightmares about failing and receiving one of her trademark punishments. And the worst part was he could never beat her in a fight. He had seen Natalya fight and she fought with brutality and agility that few could ever hope to match. So as much as he was going to hate having to kill Dail, Spade would sooner take his brother's life then let Natalya take his own…

* * *

Over in Lilac's Treehouse, the girls were in the living room and putting up their Christmas tree. The rest of the Treehouse had already been decorated and the tree-based dwelling was already beginning to look livelier with the decorations up. All the rooms had tinsel hanging off the walls and there were strings of lights all around the Treehouse from outside. The lights were plugged in and already lit up, blinking ever so often and making the house look very colourful and bright. Lilac had also set up plush toys of snowmen and Christmas dragons in the bedrooms and on top of the TV, she had placed a singing Christmas dragon that would sing if somebody clapped near it. Snowflake decorations were hung up on the ceilings of all the rooms and Christmas themed window stickers had been placed on any window in the house. Now all that was left was for a tree to be put up. While the girls had been inside, they were in their casual clothes since it was warm enough to not need their winter clothes on. The radiators were set up to high heat. It was so warm in the Treehouse now that Lilac, Carol and Milla had all but forgotten that it was meant to be cold outside.

Milla was grinning excitedly at she and her friends decorated the Christmas tree. It had been a while since she had ever decorated a Christmas tree of her own so she was ecstatic. The tree was artificial and about six feet tall, taller than the girls themselves so they all had stools to stand on so they could reach the higher parts of the tree. Lilac bent down and picked up a few baubles from a cardboard box that lay on the floor. She hung the baubles up on a few branches and watched as Carol wound some tinsel around some of the branches.

"Hey Lilac, is this tinsel OK where it is?" asked Carol curiously, "Or is it beginning to look cluttered?"

"It's fine Carol, really." said Lilac, grabbing one end of the tinsel and helping Carol to wind it around the lower branches, "We can still see the baubles perfectly fine. We could do with some more decorations around the upper branches though, it looks a bit plain."

The dragon and cat glanced up at the upper branches of the tree and saw that surely enough, the tree did look somewhat plain around the top minus the upper parts of the winding tinsel. Nodding agreeably, Carol picked up some baubles and stood on a stool to reach the upper branches. Milla, who was looking at a box of candy canes, watched nervously as Carol began to fill the branches with baubles.

"Oh please be careful Carol!" whimpered Milla, "I don't want you to fall!"

"I'm OK Milla, don't worry." Carol reassured the puppy dog, "I've decorated the tree hundreds of times and never fallen off of my stool."

"Yeah right, last year you fell over trying to put the dragon on top and you nearly took the whole tree down with you." snickered Lilac, "I was laughing so hard that I thought I was going to split my sides!"

She began to giggle as she remembered that past Christmas. She giggled so much that she failed to notice her best friend was frowning at her, clearly annoyed that she had just told Milla about that embarrassing incident. The little hound seemed not to share Lilac's sense of humour though for she wasn't laughing. She looked more worried for Carol than before now.

"But Lilac, it's not nice to laugh at people for falling off of stools." said Milla affectionately, looking worriedly back at Carol.

"Don't worry Milla, its alright." said Lilac reassuringly, "I'd never laugh at Carol if she fell off a stool and she was in serious pain. That would be cruel of me."

"You bet it would." said Carol, standing up on tip-toe to reach one more branch to hook the last bauble onto.

Then it happened. Carol suddenly lost her balance and she began to feel herself toppling backwards. The stool was leaning slightly back as Carol had placed her feet near the edge of the stool and it was threatening to topple over. Carol fought for balance but the cat lost the battle. The stool threw her backwards and toppled over. Carol let out a comical scream that sounded more like the scream one would hear in a cartoon when falling over and she crashed down onto the floor. Luckily, she seemed to be unhurt and she was quickly back up on her feet, earning a hug from a very concerned Milla.

"Are you OK?" shrieked Milla frantically.

"Chill Milla, I'm fine." said Carol casually, "I've been hurt much worse before."

"I swear next year, I'm going to stand behind you and support you so you don't fall over for once!" giggled Lilac as she hung up some candy canes on the tree.

"Heeeeeey!" yelled Carol indignantly.

"Just kidding Carol. I'm glad you're not hurt." said Lilac, her tone now more sympathetic.

"Aw come on, even SPADE couldn't hurt me that much so this is nothing." boasted Carol, "Say, you ready for Milla to put the dragon on top now?"

Lilac thought for a moment and stood back to admire her handiwork. The Christmas tree looked marvellous, full to the brim with beautiful baubles and glorious golden tinsel. The sweet smell of peppermint rose from the candy canes that had also been placed on the Christmas tree. The purple dragon smiled happily at the Christmas tree. It was no wonder that she enjoyed it greatly every year it was put up. It always looked so wonderful in the living room, looking grand and colourful and adding to the festive atmosphere that only Christmas could ever provide. She smiled over at Milla.

"You know, I think I AM ready for Milla to put the dragon on." beamed Lilac, "You ready Milla."

"Sure!" piped Milla gleefully, picking up the dragon tree topper from the decorations box and smiling a cute smile that only a puppy dog could manage.

The dragon tree topper was made of plastic so it was lightweight and wouldn't cause the Christmas tree to overbalance. It was coloured a dark blue that seemed slightly purple too. The dragon had golden eyes, golden horns and a long, snaky body that was positioned in an S shape. It had four legs, the front legs raised up as if ready to stomp down on anybody who dared to upset it. Milla peered up at the tall Christmas tree. It was awfully high up for her. Even a stool wouldn't be tall enough. But Milla was given the help she needed for Lilac placed her hands on the dog's hips and picked her up. Milla giggled as Lilac lifted her off the floor and she stretched up as high as she could reach. Lilac stood on tip-toe, trying her best to keep her balance and not drop Milla onto the tree. As sturdy as it was, the tree wouldn't hold Milla's weight. Milla reached for the top of the Christmas tree and she just managed to grab the branch and pull it forwards. She then slotted the dragon on top of the tree and bent the top branch back into place. The dragon looked very majestic and noble atop the Christmas tree, keeping a close watch upon any of its admirers. Lilac put Milla back down on the floor and the girls cheered excitedly.

"Hooray!" piped Milla, "We did it!"

"Now this is what I call a Christmas tree!" cheered Carol, admiring the wonderful mixture of colours that the tree's many baubles and tinsel provided, "This might be our best looking tree yet!"

"Darn straight!" agreed Lilac, "It also helps how we were kindly donated some of these decorations by each of the kingdoms as thanks for our hand in saving Avalice earlier this year. They REALLY liven up the tree don't they?"

"Too right!" exclaimed Carol.

"I love this Christmas tree!" squealed Milla, "It reminds me of the one mommy and daddy put up for me every…December…time…"

The dog's voice died in her throat and she suddenly began to change expression. Her face fell into a solemn expression and her ears drooped down lower than usual. Lilac and Carol caught these signs immediately and they both looked sad for their newest friend. They knew how Milla felt. During their war against Lord Brevon, she had commented on how she wanted to see her parents again and how it had felt like a long time ago since she had last seen them. Because of this, she had been alone in the woods for a very long time until she had met Lilac and Carol. The dragon patted Milla on the back softly.

"You still miss your parents don't you?" she asked sadly.

"I do." murmured Milla, "I miss them so much…I don't know why they had to disappear from my life."

"I'm sure they had some kinda reason." suggested Carol, knowing that she wasn't really being as helpful as she would have liked to be but still trying, "I'm sure they're missing you too Milla."

"Maybe the are." sighed Milla, "I remember Christmases with them before I last saw them. We'd always have loads of fun together and we'd always decorate the tree together. Now I'm spending Christmas without them…"

"But you've got us Milla." said Lilac gently, "We'll give you the kind of Christmas your parents always give you."

"I'd like that Lilac…" the hound replied glumly, "But…but…I still wanna see my parents again. All I want for Christmas…is my parents back. That is my biggest wish for this year."

Lilac and Carol looked at each other pityingly. Milla was missing her parents so much that she was wishing for them to come back to her for Christmas. A big wish indeed but the girls weren't so sure if that wish would come true. The dragon and cat looked back at their canine companion.

"I'm sure they'll come back." said Lilac warmly, "Your wish will come true Milla and then you'll have the best Christmas ever."

"I hope so…" said Milla dully.

The downhearted dog then walked out of the living room and into the bedroom with her head down low and looking as miserable as she could be. That told Lilac what she needed to know without Milla having to say the exact words: "I'd like to be alone please." Milla closed the door behind her, presumably not wanting Lilac or Carol to hear her inside. But Lilac walked up to the door and pressed the side of her head against it. She could hear Milla giving a small prayer on the other side of the door.

"Please great dragon…for Christmas this year…bring back my mommy and daddy." was what the dragon could hear.

Then Milla started to cry. Lilac could imagine the dog with her head in her hands and soaking the fur on them with tears that carried all her pain and sorrow. She hadn't heard Milla cry this hard since after the horrific event that had seen her turn into a monster and fight her and Carol on Brevon's insidious vessel, the Dreadnaught. Milla crying was quite possibly the most depressing sound in the world as far as Lilac was concerned. Her heart always broke when she heard the innocent little puppy crying. Lilac knew that it was pointless to listen to anymore crying so she stood back up and walked back over to Carol.

"Poor Milla…she's so heartbroken." said Lilac sadly, "This'll be her worst Christmas ever. She'll never be happy without her parents."

"Poor kid." sighed Carol, "I really feel sorry for her. No kid should have to be without their parents until they're ready to go alone."

"Yeah. Like us…" the purple-skinned dragon murmured, "We grew up faster than Milla did so we're OK without our parents. But Milla, she really needs them right now."

"Yeah, really badly…" the green-furred cat agreed.

"Say…" mused Lilac all of the sudden, "Maybe we could help Milla's wish come true. We could search Avalice for her parents and find them for her! And once we find them, we can reunite them with her!"

"Uh Lilac, you do realize that's impossible right?" said Carol doubtfully, "There's only three days left. We won't find Milla's parents before Christmas day."

"Was it impossible to stop Lord Brevon?" snorted Lilac, "Not likely. We'll find Milla's parents, even if it takes us until NEXT Christmas! Mark my words Carol, I'm not gonna rest until Milla's parents are back with her!" she declared.

Carol sniffed. As much as she loved her best friend, she still found her somewhat determined personality to be slightly irksome, especially since the dragon seemed to think of herself as some kind of hero like in the movies. She supposed that in a way, Lilac WAS a hero since she had been the one to stop Lord Brevon during his attack so she had every right to act that way.

"OK Little Miss Heropants." said Carol, shrugging nonchalantly, "Whatever you say. So when do we start?"

"Right NOW." said Lilac matter-of-factly.

Deep inside, Lilac knew that she was faced with a task that could well be impossible as Carol had said. But the dragon would sooner let Brevon torture her again then allow Milla to spend Christmas without her parents. She was going to find them, no matter how long she had to look or where she had to search for them. Milla's wish was going to come true and Lilac would stop at nothing to make sure it did…

* * *

_**So Milla wants to see her parents again. Will her wish come true? And what about the Red Scarves? Will Lilac and Carol get tangled up with them on their search for Milla's parents? Find out next time in Chapter 2...**_


	2. Tangled Up In A Red Scarf

_Chapter 2: Tangled up in a Red Scarf_

No sooner had Lilac and Carol decided that they were going to find Milla's parents, the girls had come into the bedroom to see how their canine friend was feeling right now. The dog at the very most looked like she had finished crying her heart out though she was still sniffling a little and wiping her eyes dry. Milla looked surprised to see her friends coming into see how she was though being a friend of theirs, she supposed it wasn't all that surprising that they wanted to check up on her. Straight away, the innocent puppy could see the concern in her dragon friend's rosy pink eyes. A lot of the time, Lilac acted like a big sister to her. So much so that Milla considered Lilac the sister that she never had and as such, enjoyed spending time with her. How fortunate she had been that faithful day to have ever met her due to her curiosity about actually meeting a real dragon. It had been a good day that day for her and Milla was forever grateful to have met Lilac. The dragon put her hands on Milla's shoulders, seeming to observe her up and down with her eyes before speaking.

"How are you feeling Milla?" asked Lilac softly.

"I feel better…though not that much." sniffed Milla sadly, "At the most, I feel like I can't cry anymore. I've run out of tears in a way."

"Who'd have thought THAT was possible?" said Carol casually.

"Well Milla, prepare to feel happier for me and Carol have decided to make your Christmas wish come true." Lilac announce proudly.

"Really?!" squeaked Milla excitedly. Her expression had changed so quickly that one had to wonder if she had ever been crying a moment ago.

"Sure!" replied Lilac, "We're going to find your parents and reunite you with them! By Christmas Day, you'll be back with them and you won't have to spend Christmas without them!"

The orange-haired hound was so overwhelmed with joy that she grasped Lilac in a tight, affectionate hug. It was like being hugged by a younger sibling for the kind-hearted dragon, a feeling that she enjoyed. Lilac embraced Milla back, smiling sweetly at her friend's joy.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" squealed Milla, "Lilac, you're the best friend in the world!"

"Ha, ha! Thanks Milla." giggled Lilac, patting the dog softly on the back.

"But before we go looking for your 'rents Milla, we need some valuable details." noted Carol, "So tell us, what do your parents look like?"

Milla responded with the kind of answer that summed up how well she knew her parents.

"Oh that's easy. Daddy is a rather tall and lanky dog whose a few feet taller than I am." explained Milla, "He has red hair and his fur's a darker colour than mine. More grey than white. His ears are smaller than mine and he has blue eyes. Mommy is smaller than daddy by a few inches and she has very long ginger hair. Her ears are longer than mine and she has my green eyes and white fur. She also doesn't wear shoes like me too."

As she had spoken the words, Milla began to feel like it had only been yesterday since she had ever seen her parents again. She remembered them so well that it didn't sound like it had been long since she had seen them. Lilac and Carol were already picturing what the two dogs looked like in their heads. Lilac imagined the father looking very handsome and sporting the features Milla had told her about. The mother she imagined would look very beautiful and like an older version of Milla herself. Milla had been very helpful for them and yet she could be even more helpful still.

"Thank you Milla, that's very helpful for us." said Lilac, "One more thing. What are their names?"

"Miguel and Lela." replied Milla, "They combined their names together to give me my name."

"That's pretty cute." said Lilac, beaming. She could see how the two parents' names would combine together to make Milla's name too. Now she knew why Milla had been named as such.

"So we're looking for a tall, lanky dog with greyish fur, red hair, blue eyes and small ears named Miguel and a female dog with long ginger hair, long ears, green eyes, white fur and no footwear named Lela?" asked Carol, hoping she had gotten what Milla had just said to her and Lilac.

"Correct." said Milla sweetly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go parent hunting!" cried Carol enthusiastically. "Oh wait, that doesn't sound right…" she suddenly murmured, thinking deeply about what she had just said.

"We know what you meant Carol." said Lilac, playfully nudging her friend snidely, "Well, now we know who we're looking for, let's grant Milla's Christmas wish!"

"Yay! We're gonna find my parents again!" squealed Milla gleefully.

"OK, so where's a good place to start looking?" asked Carol curiously, glancing over at Milla since she was likely the one with the answer.

"Well mommy and daddy were always very fond of shopping in Shang Mu." suggested Milla, "We could start there."

"Maybe Mayor Zao could give us a few pointers." mused Lilac thoughtfully, "OK, we start in Shang Mu. It'll be quite funny if we run into them and they're Christmas shopping in one of his superstores."

"Let's hope it's as easy as that." replied Carol, "Though something tells me it won't be…"

"We may well be searching all over Avalice before we finally find them. But if we find them at last, it'll make Milla's Christmas one to remember." said Lilac, "Well let's get going girls. We've got two dogs to find!"

Carol and Milla needed no further prompting. They along with Lilac ran out of the room to get their thick winter coats and get all wrapped up for their trip to Shang Mu. As they prepared to go, a tiny doubt began to nag in the back of Lilac's head. A small voice telling her that this task was impossible and they didn't have a chance of finding Miguel and Lela. Especially with three days left before Christmas Day. But Lilac ignored the voice in her head. She was going through with her idea. She was going to make Milla happy for Christmas and no matter what happened, she was going to succeed. Miguel and Lela would see their daughter again if it was the last thing Lilac ever did…

* * *

Meanwhile, the Red Scarves were getting ready to mobilize and begin their sinister raid. Much time had passed after the girls had set off to find Milla's parents and darkness was beginning to fall. The trip to Shang Mu was a long trip. Natalya had ordered the entire group to gather up whatever weapons that they deemed necessary to use for the raid while she went outside to check the time and see if it was the right moment to begin the raid. The scarves were all buzzing with excitement as they waited for their leader to return. It had been a long time since they had been active so they were all too keen to get back into the action for the first time in a long time. And with something so ambitious too! They'd soon not only raid all three kingdoms, but they would rule over them all too. Natalya was still deciding on who would replace which ruler when they carried out their sinister task thought the scarves had a feeling she would likely nab Shuigang for herself.

There were three scarves who seemed a little unsure about the raid though. Spade himself was still bitter over the fact Natalya had cruelly given him the task of killing Dail on Christmas Eve and as he waited for the Lead Scarf's return, he was dead silent with his arms folded and a stoic expression on his young but serious face. The other two were members of the scarves who had been part of the group before the events of Lord Brevon's unfortunate crash-landing onto the planet but they hadn't been with the group for as long as Spade had. They hadn't even been part of the group when Lilac and Carol were members of the scarves. They had been members between that period of time. They were a couple, married in fact and they were both hounds. The male dog was tall and lanky with red hair, shorter ears than the average hound and blue eyes. The woman looked very much like an older Milla right down to the ginger hair, green eyes and long ears. Unlike Milla, the woman was wearing shoes. Natalya had demanded it since it would make her less conspicuous. Both hounds were dressed in ninja attire, their bodies clad entirely in black and their faces concealed by a mask that had a slit for the eyes and nothing more. That was the only thing visible on them that indicated there was in fact a body underneath the black outfit. Even their ears had been concealed under the mask, though it made them feel slightly uncomfortable. They constantly felt like something was squashed against their heads and it irritated the two hounds a little. For members of the Red Scarves, the two black-clad dogs seemed extremely uncomfortable with what they were waiting for. One would get the impression that they didn't want to be here but they were here because they had no choice. Not all of the Red Scarves were members of the group by choice. Some had been forced to join the group, most of them because of Natalya threatening their lives if they dared to refuse. The two hounds were two of those unfortunate members. The male dog seemed to find it hard to stay still whereas the female dog kept looking nervously left and right as if expecting something to pounce out of the shadows and attack her. They didn't want to be part of this raid. They wanted to be somewhere much more pleasant. But they had no choice. It was this or death and if they chose death, they would never get a chance to return to their previous lives. As such, they remained on the team, waiting for an opportunity to present itself to them. But it seemed that wouldn't be happening for a long time.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Red Scarves heard the one sound that they had been dying to hear all evening. The sound of footsteps, signalling the return of their leader. Some scarves were delighted to hear that their leader was coming back, some fell silent and held their breath. Natalya was one of those people who was feared AND loved by her disciples at the same time, and that was just what she liked about the scarves. The Red Scarves fixed all eyes on the entrance to their hideout as the grand doors opened and in strolled their powerful, menacing leader. There was something about the way Natalya walked into a room that somehow set the tone for the Red Scarves no matter what mission they were on. They could be in the middle of a wild party and Natalya would still somehow make it suddenly turn dark and menacing. The long-coat and the helmet that the sinister criminal wore also sent uncanny feelings through the ones that were afraid of her. She somehow didn't look quite normal wearing them. Natalya seemed like somebody from another world, not helped by the fact nobody knew what she looked like under the helmet. Why did she always have it on? Did she just not want people to know what she really looked like? Was she unable to remove the helmet entirely? Was the helmet a disguise or some form of life support? Natayla wouldn't say what it was for exactly though Spade was sure it was because she had something to hide. He often wondered what the head that Natalya's trademark, scaly ponytail was attached to looked like underneath. He wondered if she was reptilian or some kind of alien with scaly skin. Natalya stood before the group, her hands behind her back and her posture rigid and authoritative with a straight back and her head up high. She radiated power, even in a stance like this. The scarves held their breath.

"Good evening Red Scarves." announced Natalya loudly, her voice not quite a shout but still the level of volume that showed everybody she was the one in charge.

"Good evening Natalya." replied the entire group in unison.

"The sun has set and the moon is beginning to rise." Natalya reported, "The time is right. Now is the time to begin the raid. Starting...with Shang Mu!"

The Red Scarves all cheered although Natalya knew well enough that not every member in the room was actually cheering for real. There was something paranormal about her in how she was able to spot a faker no matter how convincing their act was. Already she noticed how Spade and the two hounds were feigning delight over her announcement but she was used to it. The helmeted woman continued.

"I will oversee operations tonight and make sure you ALL accomplish your tasks. You will raid the Palace of Shang Mu clean of all riches and Mayor Zao will be dead." Natalya boomed menacingly, "If he's not in the palace then assassinate him in the streets if you have to. He is not to walk away alive at the end of the night."

The scarves all nodded agreeably. Then Spade raised his hand curiously.

"So who's going to kill the mayor?" he asked grimly.

"Miguel and Lela will have the honour of taking out Mayor Zao." announced Natalya.

The two hounds in the crow looked shocked.

"Mistress, please, we can't possibly kill anybody!" begged the male hound, Miguel, desperately.

"We may have been forced to join you but we won't cross the line and take a life!" declared Lela, "Please recruit somebody else!"

"Come here you two." snarled Natalya, holding her hand out and curling her index finger inwards and out again.

Miguel and Lela gulped nervously. If Natalya ordered you to come forward, it was never for a good reason. The canine couple reluctantly heaved their unwilling bones towards Natalya. The Red Scarves suddenly turned nervous. What was their fearsome leader going to do to them? Natalya had a horrible habit of punishing those who dared to question her. They could already imagine the scene suddenly turning very violent very fast. Miguel and Lela stood before Natalya, feeling incredibly small by the towering figure that commanded them. Lela was barely big enough to pass over Natalya's chest. Miguel was almost as tall as Natalya yet he felt a few feet smaller when face to face with her. The sinister woman glared at them through the ominous, singular lens of her helmet that obscured her face but was clear enough for her to see out of.

"Remember what I told you when I kidnapped you two?" growled Natalya, her voice showing a rare shred of emotion, "You rob when I tell you to rob! You kidnap when I tell you to kidnap and you kill when I tell you to kill! You do not question my orders and you carry them out as ordered! DO YOU COMPREHEND?!"

The bellow sounded astonishing coming out of Natalya's throat. The woman hardly ever shouted and when she did shout, it was enough to make a dinosaur run away in fear. Miguel and Lela shrunk down but kept their eyes fixed on Natalya.

"Y-y-yes...N-N-Natalya..." whimpered Miguel.

"Good!" snapped Natalya.

She then proceeded to spin around on the balls of her feet and tackle Miguel down to the floor with a vicious sweep-kick that scythed straight through the air and straight into his solar plexus. Lela screamed for her husband but she soon ended up on the floor with him as Natalya kicked her down, striking her in the small of her back with the heel of her boot. Both Miguel and Lela coughed and spluttered, wincing in pain and trying to fight it off. The Red Scarves all cringed as if feeling their pain. Natalya wasn't even hitting them at her hardest. She had only used half of her strength. Miguel and Lela both knew that if Natalya had kicked them any harder, she could have broken something. But they knew that their leader didn't want crippled minions to carry out the raid with. Natalya glared down at her floored disciples.

"On your feet!" she barked.

Miguel and Lela picked themselves up slowly, fighting off the pain in their bodies from the kicks they had received. They staggered back into the crowd and Natalya continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Miguel and Lela will kill Mayor Zao with what ever weapon they deem necessary." she announced, "No worries about being spotted by him, he is of no threat. And he won't have any guards to back him up...I will take care of them and so will my right hand man, Spade the Panda." she added, glancing over at the red-neckerchief wearing panda.

Spade showed no emotion as the Red Scarves clapped for him, clearly delighted at the fact he of all people was going to be Natalya's right hand man for the raid. He didn't seem awfully delighted himself to be given such a job. Natalya continued.

"Once the guards are taken out, Miguel and Lela will have a clear shot at him in the palace. Of course, if he's in the street, we won't have to worry about guards. We can kill him straight away and spread panic throughout the city."

Every word she spoke and the very tone she spoke with was matter-of-fact as if she somehow knew everything about her targets. She could have just read an entire book about the history of Avalice and all its features.

"So my scarves, prepare to commence with our newest scheme!" cried Natalya, somehow sounding enthusiastic despite her usual deadpan tones, "Tonight, the Christmas Raid begins!"

The cheering that followed this speech went on for many minutes. Once it had died down, Natalya turned on her heels and strolled out of the room, her coat billowing out behind her. The Red Scarves followed her eagerly although two of them lagged all the way to the back. Miguel and Lela were more nervous than ever now the raid was beginning. Lela put an arm around her husband fearfully.

"Oh Miguel...I'll never live with myself after this!" she wailed, "I'll never live down the fact that I've killed somebody!"

"Neither will I my love..." murmured Miguel bitterly, "Our daughter would be so shocked if she saw what we were about to do now...I hope Milla will never find us."

"Our poor baby...she won't be able to live with the fact we've become killers!" sobbed Lela.

"Hence why I hope she doesn't ever find us." said Miguel sadly, "Wherever she is...I hope she's doing fine and has met some good people".

Lela nodded. They hadn't seen their beloved daughter since the day Natalya had kidnapped them and forced them to join the Red Scarves. Now they were about to murder an entirely innocent person, they didn't want Milla to see them again. Better she never found out what had become of them. Her innocence would die forever and she would no longer be the same person if she ever found out...

* * *

"You know some days...brr, it sucks to be cold-blooded." moaned Lilac as she tried to gather as much warmth as possible in her body. She was wearing a thick winter coat and waterproof trousers but she still felt cold so she was hugging herself to try and keep the heat in her.

"Yeah, being a dragon kinda means you get cold very easily." murmured Carol sympathetically, "Kinda feel bad how me and Milla are lucky enough to have fur and you just got scales and skin. Not much to keep warm with."

"Will you be OK Lilac? Or are you gonna catch a cold?" asked Milla worriedly.

"I'm sure the coat will keep me warm enough to avoid that." shivered Lilac, "Next time, I'll try more than two layers."

Both dog and cat agreed that the dragon had the right idea. A vest-top and a thick coat weren't enough, she would probably need a warm sweater on over her vest-top. The girls had finally arrived on the outskirts of Shang Mu and were about to enter the grandiose city. Even in winter, Shang Mu still managed to display its majestic, red colours in all of its buildings and architecture. The city itself was teeming with life, most of the populace roaming around the streets and shopping in the local stores to buy their yearly Christmas presents for their loved ones to open up on Christmas Day. There was a parade going on with marching Avalicians in soldier outfits and some music being played by the orchestra in the parade. Music blared from speakers in the shops and the girls could see that there was a store that was selling music albums all containing Christmas songs. One of the CDs was being tested and the cold was forgotten about as Lilac, Carol and Milla nodded their heads in time to the song that was playing. The music was catchy and the lyrics were unforgettable. The girls remembered hearing it last Christmas and now familiar lyrics were being heard once again as they enjoyed the music.

_Snow is falling...all around me._

_Children playing, having fun._

_It's the season, of love and understaaaanding._

_Merry Christmas! Everyone!_

"Man, I love that song!" cried Lilac excitedly.

"Maybe we could buy one of those albums so we can listen to it back in the Treehouse." suggested Carol with a wink.

"Yeah, but we need a radio first." noted Lilac, "Mind you, my TV could easily play it. DVD players can play music CDs too."

"Do we have any money?" asked Milla curiously.

"Not at the moment but maybe after we find your parents, we could try and get some." suggested Lilac, "Now then, where in Shang Mu would two hounds be likely to hang out in?"

"Maaaaaybe the pet store?" snickered Carol teasingly.

The cat's response was a glare from the dragon. She didn't like it when Carol made jokes like that, especially in front of Milla.

"What?" asked Carol defensively, "Maybe they have a pet?"

"No Carol, neither me or my parents have a pet." corrected Milla, "They won't be in a pet store."

"What shops did they like Milla?" asked Lilac, hoping to get some ideas on where to start.

"They were quite fond of shopping in Mayor Zao's Super-Super Store." the dog replied, "It's the biggest store in the city, I think."

"Maybe we could start there." suggested Lilac, "They might be there Christmas shopping for each other. Though why they've left you Milla is anyone's guess."

"If it turns out they abandoned her then I AM gonna be mad!" growled Carol viciously. She wasn't sure why the thought had crossed her mind but she had to admit, it wasn't a bad theory. Milla however was quick to defend her parents.

"Oh no Carol, they'd never abandon me!" protested Milla, "They won't have left me for that reason! It could be I just lost them and they're still trying to find me!"

"Maybe so, which is why we have to find them." declared Lilac, "Come on girls, let's get searching in Zao's Super-Super Store. It's somewhere to start at least."

The trio set off to find Zao's Super-Super Store to begin their search for Milla's parents. But just as they were preparing to go, somebody called over to them. At first the girls hadn't heard anything but as they began to walk past the Christmas parade that was being hosted in the city square, somebody called to them again. This time, their attention had been caught. The parade had stopped and somebody was running up towards Lilac, Carol and Milla. It was none other than the narcissistic but otherwise honourable ruler of Shang Mu himself, Mayor Zao. He was a short and stubby red panda with a brilliant, opulent, red and gold uniform and a large hat that made him look somewhat comical rather than majestic. In spite of his diminutive size, he had a surprisingly large ego. The girls knew this very well from when they had met and even dined with Mayor Zao during the month Lord Brevon had threatened Avalice's peace and serenity. Not surprisingly, Zao seemed rather excited to see that his kingdom was being graced with the presences of the ones that had saved Avalice all those months ago.

"Hey Mayor Zao!" greeted Lilac enthusiastically.

"My friends! It is so good to see you in the middle of my magnificent Christmas parade!" the egomaniacal red panda replied, equally as enthusiastic, "I'm bursting with joy at the sight of you three!"

**5+ JOY**

"Huh, that 5+ thing still happens to him. How does he do that anyway?" mused Carol thoughtfully.

"We're very happy to see you too Mr. Mayor." said Milla sweetly, bowing down to the mayor respectfully.

"So what are the Heroes of Avalice doing in my magnificent metropolis?" asked Zao curiously, "It must be a special occasion if you chose to come to MY city of all places."

"Ah, that ego of yours is still as overbearing as ever." chuckled Lilac, "Ahem, we're here because Milla wants to see her parents again. We're looking to see if they're around here at all."

"You seen a guy dog and a girl dog that look like Milla around at all?" asked Carol, hoping to receive the answer she wanted.

The wealthily dressed mayor fell silent for a moment as he thought about this question. He took a look at Milla before delivering his answer.

"I've seen MANY dogs wander around my city. Many dogs even LIVE in my city." he replied, "But I can't say I've seen any that look like they're related to Milla here. But then again, my memory's not perfect as far as people are concerned. Describe her parents to me."

"Go ahead Milla." the dragon urged, "Maybe Zao will remember if he's seen them or not."

Milla stood forward and spoke.

"My daddy's tall, grey-furred, red-haired, has short ears and blue eyes. Mommy is white-furred, shorter than daddy, has my eye and hair colour and doesn't wear footwear." she replied, not once pausing to think as if she had rehearsed the entire explanation by heart.

The mayor thought about the descriptions he'd been given for a moment. They sounded a little familiar to him. Then he snapped his fingers.

"Why yes! I believe I've seen those two before!" cried Mayor Zao, "Were their names Miguel and Lela by any chance?"

"Yes." answered Milla.

"I remember running into them before during one of their shopping rounds." Zao thought aloud, "Yeah, they were very nice people. Sadly, I haven't heard of them or seen them around since then. Maybe their shopping trip here was a one time only thing." he murmured, sounding a little disappointed.

**5+ DISAPPOINTMENT**

"But mommy and daddy LOVED shopping in Shang Mu!" declared Milla, "They never went only once! They used to go regularly!"

"Then I guess they were just lucky enough to have met me that one day." murmured Zao grimly.

"Do you have any idea what happened to them?" asked Lilac hopefully.

"Why no indeed." said Zao, sounding a little sad that he couldn't be very helpful to his fellow friends, "I saw them once and then...that's it. Never saw them again."

"Well that stinks." said a rather annoyed Carol the Wildcat, "How will we find Milla's parents now?"

"I could ask my entire city to search for them." suggested Zao helpfully, "It'll be like putting up Wanted posters all over, only they're not wanted for breaking any laws. I can see the posters now. "Mayor wants to help poor pup find her parents! Please help your glorious mayor in the search to repair a poor little doggy's broken heart! Anyone who finds them will receive shopping coupons for a year! All with 5% off of selected brands"!"

Lilac could only giggle as the Mayor entered another one of his usual hammy stages of self-worshipping and glory. As over-bearing as his ego could be, Mayor Zao was truly larger than life and a tonne of fun to watch whenever he was around.

"I'm sure that'll get people to look." snickered Carol, her tone suggesting she was more joking than actually meaning what she said.

"Mark my words my friends, little Milla will get her parents back, even if I have to cancel Christmas in Shang Mu to achieve it!" declared Zao, forgetting he was in a city square with people around so he had a lot of people who would have heard him and probably took what he said too literally.

"I don't think that's necessary." said Lilac hastily, "We're just glad you're offering..."

The dragon's words suddenly died away in her throat and she fell into silence. Something had caught her attention. But what was it? Why did she suddenly feel like somebody was watching them? Lilac could never explain it, but as a dragon, she had a kind of instinct that usually told her when danger was near. Sometimes it had been wrong, but Lilac was sure that something wasn't right. The purple Avalician looked up at a nearby building. And yes, she had seen something up there! It was the moonlight glinting off of a polished, steel surface! Lilac could see the thing rising up as if ready to strike. Lilac's blood ran colder than the snow around her. It was an assassin! And it had some kind of weapon! Lilac quickly measured distances and worked out that the thing was aiming at Zao's head. Was the assassin preparing to throw his weapon at him? Lilac came to a quick conclusion: somebody was here to kill Mayor Zao. The dragon was not going to let him die now, not before he could celebrate another Christmas.

"GET DOWN!" screamed Lilac, throwing herself into the Mayor like a rugby player tackling an opponent.

Just as she knocked Zao down onto the snow, a huge shuriken whizzed through the air and slashed through the air that Mayor Zao's head had just seconds ago been in. The shuriken buried itself into a mound of snow nearby. Carol and Milla jumped back in alarm, gasping at what had just happened. The nearby crowd had seen the shuriken miss Mayor Zao and they all began to panic, fearing for their own safety more than anybody else's. Lilac picked herself up and caught sight of the assassin. The assassin seemed to retreat upon realizing he had just been spotted. But as he fled, Lilac swore that she had seen the familiar sign of a red scarf on the assassin. Could it be...?

"What happened?!" shrieked Zao wildly.

"I think somebody wants you dead." muttered Lilac, "Had it not been for me, you would have had a shuriken embedded in your skull."

She picked up the wicked weapon and showed it to the panda. The shuriken was the size of her hand and had four flint-sharp points. The star would have embedded itself deep into Zao's head had the dragon not caused it to miss its target.

"EEKS! I'M UNDER ATTACK!" hollered Zao frantically, "Panic everybody! Your mayor's being targeted tonight!"

**5+ PANIC**

"So who's targeting Mayor Egotist then?" asked Carol, her face serious and mission-like.

"I think the assassin was wearing a red scarf." murmured Lilac bitterly, "I bet the Red Scarves are behind this."

"Well they're the only ones with shurikens who actually try to kill people with them." sniffed Carol, "Come on Little Miss Heropants! Let's get him!"

"Wait, I smell something strange!" cried Milla hastily, her sensitive nose twitching curiously, "I can smell…people coming towards us. And the smell's a bit like that star-thingy that nearly took Zao's head off."

Lilac and Carol were both standing back to back and bending down in battle-ready stances the moment Milla told them this. This could only mean one thing. Whoever had tried to kill Mayor Zao had just run crying to his or hear team-mates and now they were coming to finish the job that they had started. Lilac and Carol were right to brace themselves for seconds later, the Red Scarves burst onto the scene with their weapons brandished and ready to attack. They looked totally monstrous in their ninja outfits and brandishing whatever evil weapons they had in their hands. Mayor Zao leaped about a foot into the air with shock. His hat leapt even higher off of his head, somersaulted and then landed back down on his head. Lilac quickly stood defensively in front of him. The sight of the Red Scarves made her feel sick to her stomach and she was looking forward to connecting their faces with the ground. She had her eyes fixed on one person in particular, the loathsome panda Spade. During their fight with Brevon, she and Carol had run into Spade and both had gotten into fights with him, both ending with the girls victorious. Spade looked keen for a rematch with the two Red Scarf traitors. Lilac's face contorted with loathing as she stared him down.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Red Scarves." snarled Lilac, "Come to spoil Christmas for us Avalicians before it can arrive! When will you guys just leave people alone for once?!"

"Try telling that to somebody who cares." sniffed Spade, "Anyway, step aside and hand over the mayor."

"Give me a good reason why I should!" snapped Lilac.

"Our task is to kill him and if you don't stand aside, we will be forced to kill you as well!" growled Spade, "And believe me, I won't hesitate to send a traitor like you to the graveyard!"

"Geez, when's he EVER gonna get over that fact?" sighed Carol in annoyance, "We betrayed the scarves, big deal. I'm surprised we're the only ones so far."

"I'm NOT handing over the mayor!" declared Lilac, "You'll have to get through ME first!"

"Gladly…" snarled Spade, drawing out a deck of cards and brandishing five of them between his fingers.

"Zao, get out of the city and warn the Magister and King Dail that the scarves are back." ordered Lilac, "They need to know about this. Me and my friends will take care of these scumbags while you do so."

"Y-y-you d-d-don't h-h-have t-t-tell me t-twice!" yelped Mayor Zao.

He ran off quickly to carry out his task. The Red Scarves watched their prey flee for his life and they were about to chase after him. But before any of the ninjas could move, Milla sprang into action. She summoned a huge, green energy shield and threw it straight at Spade and any scarves beside him. The shield bowled them all over like skittles in a bowling alley and sent them flying all over the place. The Red Scarves all crashed down together in a heap, earning squeals of applause from the nervously watching crowd nearby. They had seen somebody attempt to kill their mayor and said killers had just made themselves known to the Heroes of Avalice. Seeing the trio now fighting against the insidious scarves was enough to make them whoop with joy. Milla was so delighted to hear the cheering crowd that she began to bow politely to them. Lilac chuckled at this. Only Milla could ever be in the middle of a fight and still have room to do something cute.

But Milla would have to get her head out of the clouds for the scarves were back up on their feet and ready to fight. Four ninjas charged towards Lilac and Carol, all armed with spears and holding them with their sharp points aimed directly at them. If they hit their targets, the dragon and cat would be skewered like kebabs. Lilac was ready for them. She leapt up into the air, somersaulting straight over two of the ninjas and landing behind them. She then twirled around on the tips of her toes, swinging her trademark tendrils around like whips at her foes. The tendrils walloped the ninjas in the faces and knocked them both down onto their sides. They leapt back up onto their feet and slashed at Lilac with the spears. The dragon dodged but despite evading the attack, she could sense all the hate and rage put into the attempt slash. She was a traitor, and worse, a traitor to THEM. They wanted her dead for her treachery and would do what they could to put her down. Lilac struck back with a punch to the throat on one of the ninjas. The ninja's eyes opened wide and he crumpled onto the floor, completely passed out. The other ninja stabbed at Lilac but the tough dragon struck back with a kick to the gut that caused him to drop his spear. Then Lilac spun around and let him have it with her trademark and signature move, the Dragon Cyclone. The ninja was whisked off his feet and sent flying by the dragon's tough , whippy tendrils. He crashed down on his back, laying in a heap in a pile of snow. Lilac smiled smugly at the ninjas.

"Now you know what happens when you mess with a dragon!" she crowed.

The other two ninjas were attacking Carol and they both lunged at her with their spears. The wildcat was not an easy opponent to land a hit on though. She was tough as nails and she showed just exactly how tough she was. She raised one of her legs and sprang towards one of the ninjas. She was moving her leg up and down rapidly and as she neared the solider, she walloped him as callously as possible. The ninja was taken out instantly, thrown down hard onto the snow covered ground. The other ninja swung his spear at Carol like a club, hoping to hit her on the head and take her out. If he had managed to hit the cat's head, she would be knocked out instantly. But Carol's good hearing saved her. She ducked, leaving her opponent to sweep the spear through empty air and she retaliated with an uppercut to the chin. The punch was so hard that the ninja swore his head was going to come off. It stayed on luckily for him. The ninja staggered backwards but Carol finished him off with a roundhouse kick that brought him down hard onto his back, his head hitting an exposed bit of ground underneath the snow. The ninja was knocked out instantly.

"Oh yeah! Score one for the wildcat!" cheered Carol delightedly. A fun day for her was being able to fight and beat up the Red Scarves and she was having a good time right now.

The furious Spade could see that the Red Scarves weren't going to win this battle. Milla had knocked down most of the group already and four ninjas hadn't been enough to take down Lilac or Carol. He instantly grew concerned for his well-being. Would Natalya execute him if he and the scarves lost now? Speaking of which, where was she right now? Why wasn't she giving them a helping hand? Then Spade remembered. Natalya was a woman who only came out to fight if she felt like she was needed. She was obviously waiting to see if she was needed yet. Or she might have gone after Mayor Zao. The latter was the likeliest since he had gotten away. Spade decided to take matters into his own hands. The death dealer whipped out five cards, all positioned between his fingers, and he swiped the air with his arm, throwing the cards straight towards the trio. Despite looking like harmless playing cards, they were anything but. They were lethal weapons and Spade had claimed many lives with them. The cards swept through the air and homed in on their prey. Milla saw them and quickly reacted. She summoned a shield and blocked the attack, the cards smashing to pieces against the hard, energy field she had created. Lilac and Carol leapt over the shield and they charged towards Spade, both faces full of contempt. Spade threw some more cards at the dragon and cat but the two girls already anticipated his move. Spade was a predictable opponent, always resorting to using his playing cards when in a fight.

The panda watched as his attack missed and he boosted towards Lilac and Carol. He charged straight into the two and whisked them off their feet. He then drew some more cards and sliced at Lilac's face. He left a long, thin cut across the dragon's face just across the eyes with the razor sharp edge of the card. The cut stung furiously and made the purple Avalician wince in pain. But Lilac didn't let that bring her down though. She jumped up onto her feet and whipped Spade with her tendrils. The force she hit Spade with was incredible. Her tendrils felt more like a slap across the face from a strong hand to the Red Scarf member. Spade flew backwards, straight towards Carol. Carol drew her leg backwards, enjoying the moment building up to the attack she was about to launch at her rival. She then thrust her leg forward and her booted foot connected squarely in the centre of Spade's back. Pain flared up the panda's spine as he was thrown face first into the snow by the kick.

But Spade wasn't down for long. He sprang up onto his feet and spun around on his tip-toes, throwing cards in every direction towards the girls. Milla yelped in fright and quickly blocked them with a shield. Carol and Lilac defended themselves with the cat weaving around every card launched at her and the dragon whipping them away with her tendrils. Then both Red Scarf turncoats charged towards their nemesis. Spade stopped spinning just in time to find himself struck in the chest and back by a kick from both Lilac and Carol. Before Spade had any time to register any pain in his body, Lilac used her Dragon Cyclone attack and whipped him towards Milla. She watched with pleasure as her attack threw the murderous panda through the air. It seemed to have hurt Spade very much for she could actually see the pain on his face. That was good news. Milla summoned a shield and waited for Spade to crash into it. The panda crashed straight into the shield like a car in a crash test room. Milla then thrust her arms forward, the force-field thrusting forwards and sending Spade flying away from her and crashing down at the feet of Lilac the Dragon Girl. Spade's face was buried entirely in snow when he finally came to a stop. Satisfied with their fight and triumphant about their victory, Lilac reached down and seized Spade by his neckerchief. She hauled him up onto his feet and drew her arm backwards, ready to punch him directly in the face.

"OK Spade, you got three seconds to tell me why you're targeting Mayor Zao or my fist connects with your nose!" snarled Lilac, "Counting down…now!"

"What the scarves are doing is none of your business traitor!" snapped Spade, "But know this, it has nothing to do with you! So you're making a mistake getting involved in our affairs!"

"The only mistake around here is what YOU'VE made!" retorted Lilac, "Now answer the question or your nose gets broken!"

Then suddenly, something jumped down from seemingly nowhere and landed down on the ground, sending snow flying all around from the impact. Lilac's head snapped around to see who it was that had landed on the ground. Her face went pale as she saw who it was. Spade turned his head to see what Lilac was looking at and he ended up being introduced to a new experience. For the first time in his life, he was pleased to see his wicked leader. Natalya had finally decided to show up after remaining in hiding for a good portion of the raid. She had been helping some Red Scarves raid the palace clean of all riches while Spade and his team had been trying to assassinate Mayor Zao. Now she'd finished, she had arrived to see that her second in command needed help so the Lead Scarf had entered the battlefield. Natalya's helmet concealed her face but Lilac had the feeling that the sinister woman was staring her down, cold and emotionless and about ready to punish her. Natalya stood up straight and marched towards her former comrade. Spade smirked at Lilac, the dragon's eyes still firmly fixed on the approaching Lead Scarf.

"Well, looks like the tables just turned in our favour." sneered Spade.

"Oh no…not her! Anyone but her!" whimpered Lilac, letting Spade go and trembling with fear.

Natalya stared down Lilac and then slowly began to walk towards her, every step she took spelling death for the heroine as she came closer and closer to her…

* * *

_**Well this can't be good...Natalya's here and Lilac seems terrified of her. What will happen next? Find out next time in Chapter 3...where the fur REALLY flies...**_


	3. Back with the Scarves

_Chapter 3: Back with the Scarves_

What had started out as an innocent attempt to grant Milla's Christmas wish had quickly turned sour and Lilac had no idea just how sour things could have possibly turned for her and her best friends. They had foiled an attempt on Mayor Zao's life and beaten up Spade the Panda and his Red Scarf friends for attempting something so vile and wicked. The mayor had been saved and was on his way to warn Shang Tu and Shuigang of the Red Scarves' return. With any luck, the kingdoms would react and band together to capture the wicked assassins and put an end to the evil group once and for all. Christmas would be safe and peaceful without them trying to mug or kill anybody and they would never bother anybody ever again. But now would be the time for justice to hurry up and act. Lilac had tried to get Spade to tell her what the assassination attempt was all about but before Spade could tell him anything, her worst nightmare had come true. The Lead Scarf herself, Natalya, was now on the scene and strolling menacingly towards her, Carol and Milla. The trio looked nervous as the helmeted, long-coated figure began to walk slowly but menacingly towards them. Lilac did not need anybody to introduce this woman to her. She remembered Natalya as if she had only seen her yesterday. The familiar, helmeted appearance of the mysterious lady haunted her darkest nightmares and now for the first time since her heel-turn and subsequent betrayal of the Red Scarves, she was staring straight at Natalya. She had heard dark tales about her and while she hadn't really believed them, she was still frightened of Natalya and was now shaking with fear as she was approaching her. If Lord Brevon was the scariest thing outside of Avalice she had ever seen, then Natalya was the scariest thing she had ever seen ON Avalice itself. Lilac backed away slowly as her former leader strode towards her. Spade was smiling wickedly, pleased to see his enemy looking so frightened. For once, he was on top, in total control and Lilac was the one scared and shrinking back slowly. He savoured every moment of his enemy's fear delightedly. Milla clutched Lilac's hand in fright. She had never met Natalya before but she didn't need to have met her in order to see how frightening she looked. The ominous helmet that shrouded the woman's entire head already told her she was bad news.

"L-L-Lilac. W-w-wh-who's th-that s-s-scary w-w-woman?" whimpered Milla fearfully.

"That is the one person in the entire world that I'm scared of…" murmured Lilac, her eyes still fixed on the oncoming figure before her, "Her name is Natalya. She's the leader of the Red Scarves…and she's the stuff of legends."

"She's a horror story amongst the scarves and when part of the group, me and Lilac heard terrible, terrible things about her!" exclaimed Carol, the wildcat looking unusually frightened alongside Lilac and Milla, "We heard of how she'd punish anyone who defied her harshly and she's been given the reputation of being the cruellest woman in the world!"

"And that's why you traitors are so dead." sneered Spade confidently, "Natalya's been dying to meet you two again someday. She's still feels sore over how you two stabbed her in the back and ran out on her."

"Cram it Spade!" snarled Lilac, "I don't care what Natalya thinks of us! Betraying her was the best thing I've ever done aside from stopping Brevon from making off with our Kingdom Stone!"

"And now I'm gonna kick her ass for being such a cruel witch!" declared Carol, cracking her knuckles and getting ready to pounce on her former leader.

If there was one way to make Carol eat those words, it was what occurred shortly after she had spoken them. Before anybody could stop her, Carol stampeded towards Natalya like a tiger ready to tackle a deer and bring it down for its daily meal. Natalya's eyes fixed squarely on her former comrade. She remembered Carol all too well. She had been the cheekiest, rudest, most impetuous Red Scarf she had ever had the misfortune of recruiting. It sickened her to see the green-coloured cat still wearing her group's trademark. As a badge of honour perhaps? No honour was displayed in the way this little sod was carrying the scarf. Natalya stopped walking and waited for Carol to come within a suitable distance before making her move. The woman suddenly sprung up into the air and twirled around, swinging her legs around and slamming them callously into the side of Carol's face. Her booted feet threw Carol down onto the snow as hard as a tree falling over. The wildcat picked herself up, wiping snow off her face and gasping in shock at what had just happened. She felt like she'd been whacked by a baseball bat. Never had the feline experienced her former leader in a fight. Now she knew that Natalya could indeed fight and hit very hard. This fight had to be over and FAST. Carol ran towards Natalya and unleashed a rapid round of fisticuffs that should have bombarded her sinister opponent. But Natalya somehow managed to block every blow with an equally as rapid movement of her arms. Lilac and Milla watched with amazement as Natalya effortlessly blocked every blow thrown at her. Her arms were black blurs scything through the air and preventing a single punch from Carol coming anywhere near her. She was an expert in martial arts of the highest calibre and Carol saw with a sinking heart that she was hopelessly outmatched. She couldn't hope to win against Natalya. She was an expert, she was still training. But the wildcat wasn't going to let Natalya win. She stopped fisticuffing her opponent and aimed a punch that should have hit Natalya squarely in the stomach. The punch was hard enough to knock somebody out if she was aiming at their head or throat. But Natalya had already twirled out of the way and positioned herself directly behind Carol. The cat then felt a savage blow to the back of her head that knocked all sense out of her. Carol screamed in pain and fell onto her hands and knees, clutching her head tensely as if it was about to explode. Then Natalya lashed out and grabbed Carol by the neck from behind. With her arms ahead of her, Carol couldn't possibly pry herself free of Natalya's iron grip. Her hand was like a pair of pliers around her throat. Carol gagged and choked, trying to stay conscious but already seeing black spots ahead of herself.

"H…h…help…me…!" she croaked feebly, reaching out for Lilac and using whatever breath she had left to call for her.

"I'll stop her!" declared Milla, scampering on all fours towards the powerful martial artist.

"No Milla, you don't stand a chance!" cried Lilac frantically.

Milla ignored her big sister figure and instead summoned a shield to her hands. She threw it straight towards Natalya in the hopes of hitting her and saving Carol from being suffocated to death. But Natalya saw the attack coming and hoisted her green-furred opponent up off the ground and to the height of her shoulder. She drew her arm back and threw Carol straight at the shield, the cat bursting through it and carrying on straight towards Milla. The little puppy tried to summon another shield to her hands but she was miles too slow. Carol crashed into her and the two sprawled on the ground, covered in snow and moaning in pain. Milla and Carol stood back up and the cat rubbed her throat better, massaging it gently with her fingertips. Then she charged towards Natalya, hoping to finally hit her at long last. But then the coat-wearing villainess kicked up snow and sent it hurling into Carol's eyes. She was instantly blinded and sent tumbling over as frozen water bit at her face. Carol tried to wipe the snow out of her eyes but Natalya suddenly lunged toward and punched her squarely in the forehead. The attack felt like a gunshot to the head and Carol was instantly, but mercifully, knocked out just a split second after impact. She collapsed onto the ground, lying still in the snow with her eyes closed. Milla threw another shield at Natalya but to her surprise, the mysterious woman somersaulted out of the way with perfection radiating in her move and she landed straight in front of Milla. The dog grew worried and backed away fearfully.

"Oh please don't hurt me!" whimpered Milla.

Natalya ignored her and backhanded the dog onto the ground. Being a child, Milla was easier to knockout for her skull wasn't as strong as a teenager's was. Milla collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious and with an ugly, purple bruise on the side of her head. Lilac had had enough of watching Natalya make a complete fool out of her friends. She was gobsmacked to see how powerful and swift she was but she couldn't have anticipated her friends being taken out so easily. Now Natalya had crossed the line and it was time for her to get involved.

"Alright Natalya, that's it! Nobody hurts my friends like this!" snarled Lilac, "Prepare to face the wrath of a dragon you monster!"

Briefly, Lilac found herself back in the events of Brevon's malice a few months ago. He had hurt Milla and turned her into a monster, causing her to fight against Lilac and Carol and the little dog had nearly lost her life because of this. Had things not turned in Lilac's favour, she wouldn't be out searching for Milla's parents right now. Natalya hurting Milla reminded her very bitterly of what Brevon had done to Milla, only Natalya hadn't turned Milla into a monster. She'd still hurt her and Lilac was determined to make Natalya pay for her immoral actions. Snarling viciously, the dragon torpedoed towards Natalya in a speed boost that seemed to sparkle as she rolled into a ball and charged towards her opponent. Natalya had already anticipated the move. She had seen Lilac in battle when the dragon used to be on her side, she knew all her moves and how to counter them. Natalya stepped to the side, leaving her determined opponent to whiz straight past her and skid to a halt. Lilac regained herself and ran towards Natalya. Rage was driving her now. She felt nothing but anger and contempt towards the woman. But that was going to be her downfall. Lilac jumped into the air and twirled around in a Dragon Cyclone attack. Natalya twirled around herself, waiting for Lilac to come close to her while spinning. Lilac collided with the spinning Natalya and was thrown aside by her attack. She crashed head first into a pile of snow. The frosty substance bit furiously at her skin. It was bad enough how the layers she currently had on were only just preventing her from being too cold and now her face was covered in snow, which made her feel VERY cold.

Shivering but still not giving up, Lilac threw herself at Natalya and began launching a flurry of punches that would have done serious harm to her…had they actually managed to hit her. Natalya blocked every blow with ease, her arms moving faster than Lilac could see and effortlessly shielding every attack she threw. But then Lilac spun around on the balls of her feet and swung a roundhouse kick at Natalya's helmeted head. The heel of her boot should had stricken her side on but Natalya bent over backwards with amazing agility. It didn't seem humanly possible for her to move so fast. Lilac knew she was out of her depth against this woman. She had dispatched her friends as if they weren't even trying and as hard as Lilac herself was now trying, Natalya was making a total fool out of her. She fought with the skills and agility that made the opponent she was against look like an amateur. Lilac was no amateur but compared to Natalya, she may as well be in the training room. The Lead Scarf swung her head forwards and Lilac only just had time to attempt a dodge before the orb visor of the helmet lightly knocked against her forehead. Had she reacted a split second later, Lilac would have been hit full on by the head butt and she would have been down on the floor instantly. Lilac rubbed her forehead better but soon found herself with something else to rub as Natalya lashed forward and slugged her hard in the gut with a punch that seemed too strong for somebody as slender bodied as her to be throwing. The dragon doubled over and let out a terrible cough. Then Natalya kicked upwards, her foot connecting sharply with Lilac's face and snapping her entire upper body painfully backwards. The dragon was thrown off her feet and down onto her back by the kick. Lilac had just enough time to ease the pain before Natalya jumped up into the air and attempted to stomp down on the stubborn Avalician. Lilac quickly rolled out of the way, leaving Natalya to stomp down on flattened snow and she jumped up onto her feet. Lilac whipped Natalya with her twin tendrils but the sinister leader didn't seem fazed by the blow. It was almost as if it hadn't happened at all. She retaliated by whipping Lilac with her own ponytail. The scaly, leathery ponytail slapped across Lilac's face and sent her reeling sideways. Natalya knew how to use any part of her body as a weapon, even her hair it seemed.

Lilac shook off the attack and sprang towards Natalya. She aimed a powerful kick straight at the woman's face. Much to Lilac's surprise, she actually hit her squarely in the jaw section of her helmet! But to Natalya, Lilac may as well have been kicking a brick wall. Her head did jerk backwards from the kick but she didn't seem hurt in the slightest. Lilac's heart missed a beat. That had been her best kick! How did that not hurt her?! Was Natalya resistant to pain? If so then Lilac knew this was a battle she couldn't win. Natalya retaliated with a savage punch to the shoulder that threw Lilac aside and brought her down onto the snow. The dragon tried to stand back up just as her evil opponent was ready to launch another punch, this one aimed at the back of her head. Lilac didn't feel the final blow. The final blow that finished the fight in Natalya's favour. The final blow that had knocked her out…

* * *

The blue-coloured city of Shang Tu was getting ready to welcome the luxury of a good night's sleep. It was already dark outside with the moonlight shining softly in the pitch black sky, looking very much out of place in such vast darkness. In the snowy weather that had blanketed most of Avalice, the blue colours of Shang Tu somehow managed to make the city look even colder than all the other cities. The snow seemed to have that effect on Shang Tu. In the Shang Tu Royal Palace, the ruler of the city was standing on the palace balcony and admiring the soon to be sleeping city. How beautiful it looked to him, covered in snow and ice and mixing in well with the trademark blue colours of his kingdom. The ruler was known as The Magister. The Magister was mysterious to anybody who knew him. His face was completely black, possibly shrouded in shadows, with only his hard, serious, purple eyes being visible on his entire face. He radiated wealth and grace with long flowing blue and golden robes and a royal headpiece that only added to his rather mysterious yet distinctive appearance. The Magister could be cold and serious but he had a sense of honour that he often cautiously displayed. He was currently on good terms with Lilac and her friends after they had banded together to save Avalice from Brevon. Because of their bravery, Shang Tu had the energy they needed in order to celebrate another Christmas. He himself took a casual approach to the celebration. Not quit excitable about it but enjoying it in his own way and still embracing the spirit of the holiday. His palace had been decorated with wreathes, lights and ceiling-hanging snowflakes that seemed appropriate in the icy blue interior of his royal home. He had a Christmas tree up in the palace and it was a snow-white tree with blue decorations that also seemed appropriate inside a blue-covered building such as the palace. The Magister was certain that Shang Tu would have yet another enjoyable Christmas in three days time. He wondered what would happen to the Kingdom Stone on December the 25th. The Kingdom Stone had often done something miraculous like displayed more amounts of energy than usual or even created a light show for Avalice on Christmas Day. Now it was changed, it could do something fantastic but unexpected.

The Magister was snapped out of his thoughts by clomping feet. He knew the sound of those clomping feet very well. Only one person in the entire palace made such heavy sounds when running. It was his Royal Guard, General Gong. The panda lived up to his title, being a formidable opponent in battle and having great strategic skills and a huge shield that served him well. He was clad in his usual samurai armour, coloured black and gold and complete with spiked shoulder-pads. Gong stood out like a sore thumb in the palace due to the lack of any blue on his outfit. Gong saluted his master and the Magister turned around to see what the general had to say.

"Your Excellency!" announced General Gong, "Mayor Zao of Shang Mu is here! He has an important message to deliver to us!"

"Send him in." the Magister boomed in his big deep voice.

General Gong nodded and briefly left the room to fetch the short but wealthily dressed mayor. The Magister could only wonder what Mayor Zao was doing in Shang Tu and what his supposed "Important message" was. Given the mayor's larger than life personality, he was sure he was here to just inflate his own ego again. Seconds later, the general returned with a very frightened and frantic looking Zao just beside him. The Magister caught sight of the mayor instantly and began to have second thoughts. He looked unusually frightened. This couldn't be good news if Zao himself was running scared to him.

"Magister!" cried Mayor Zao, quickly bowing down and standing back up again, "Thank goodness you're still awake!"

"So tell me Mayor Zao, what is it that's troubling you?" asked the Magister softly.

"My friends Lilac, Carol and Milla sent me to warn you about the Red Scarves!" Zao announced, "They're back and they're trying to assassinate me! Lilac saved my life and sent me to warn you and King Dail about their return!"

The Magister took in the news and folded his arms thoughtfully. Just when he had hopes of Shang Tu having another peaceful Christmas, trouble stirs up again. And it was the Red Scarves that were causing it. The Magister shook his head sadly.

"This is troubling…the Red Scarves maybe mercenaries…but they've never attempted something like this." he mused.

"If we can rile up the other kingdoms in time, we'll be able to arrest the whole group before Christmas Eve!" cried Zao, leaping up and down in a comical manner that made it hard for anybody to take him seriously.

"The scarves are allusive but if we all work together to track them down…we'll stop them." agreed the royal Shang Tu ruler, "One has to wonder why they're targeting you Zao?"

"I guess they're jealous that the great me actually has more fortune than they can possibly hope to achieve!" declared Zao, "They must want me dead so they can have all my power! The scoundrels…"

"If they're targeting you…and you've come to us, chances are they might come here looking for you." the Magister murmured grimly, "This could be an opportunity to trap those scarves." he added, sounding sincere and thoughtful as he spoke.

"I think you might be onto something Magister!" Gong concluded with a snap of his fingers, "We could set a trap up for those Red Scarves and capture them all!"

"And with any luck…we could capture their leader too." The Magister suggested.

"Whoever their leader is, I am going to make him or her pay for daring to put me on the scarves's target list!" yelled Zao furiously.

"So Zao, how are Lilac and her buddies doing?" asked Gong curiously, "Did they stay behind to cover you while you escaped?"

"Why yes indeed." said Zao, "I bet they've beaten them all into the dirt right now!"

"I could bring some men over to Shang Mu and see if the scarves are still there." suggested General Gong, "If they are, we bring them in. If they're not, then we wait and see if they'll come for you."

Zao looked a little nervous to hear General Gong say that. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of being the bait to draw in the fish they wanted to catch. But it was better than letting the scarves run free and have another chance to take his life.

"Venture forward general." the Magister ordered, "And if you see any Red Scarves, arrest them quickly."

The general bowed down to the Magister loyally and quickly left the room to carry out his duty. Little did he know is that by the time he arrived, there would be no Red Scarves. And no Lilac, Carol or Milla either…

* * *

**Next morning, December the 23rd, only two more days till Christmas…**

It had been a whole night. Lilac had spent the whole winter night unconscious and unaware of what was happening while she was blacked out. As she was beginning to wake up, she didn't feel like she had been knocked out for a long time. As far as she was concerned, she had only been out for a few minutes, maybe an hour. She never could have calculated that she'd been out for a whole night. Natalya had delivered a crippling blow to the back of her head and as Lilac was waking up, she was in agony. Her head felt like it was on fire and pain flared through her skull so sharply that she began to wonder if she would pass out again. The dragon felt sick inside, a common feeling to experience after being knocked out. Lilac opened her eyes and after a moment of waiting for her vision to return, she found out where she was. The young heroine was no longer in the City Square of Shang Mu. She wasn't even in Shang Mu itself. She was in a bare, cold, steel cell that made her shiver due to how cold the metal walls and floor were. Lilac knew this cell. She had often peered through the barred window to see any unlucky member of the Red Scarves spending their time inside as a punishment for any wrong actions they had committed against Natalya. She was in a dungeon and this very dungeon was in the hideout of the Red Scarves. Lilac felt even sicker. She was actually back in her old territory, a territory she had never wanted to tread upon again! She knew she had to get away and fast before Natalya could punish her. Or worse…kill her. That made Lilac think for a moment. Why hadn't Natalya killed her now? Why bring her back to their hideout and lock her in a dungeon cell? The dragon had a nasty feeling that she didn't want to know the answers to those questions.

Now fully awake, Lilac tried to move over to the door and break it down. But she realized something else. She hadn't been sitting on the floor the whole time. She was _standing_. Lilac quickly found out how she had been standing despite being unconscious. Her arms, raised above her head, had heavy, uncomfortable shackles clamped firmly around her wrists. It was impossible for her to do anything but remain standing and since Lilac had spent the entire night like this, her wrists were in agony. Lilac was amazed her hands hadn't been cut off yet although she supposed she would have to be like this for longer than she had been for that. Lilac tugged on her chains, desperate to get free. But try as she might, she couldn't break them. They held firm, the shackles they were connected to refusing to let her go. Lilac could feel her heart beating uncomfortably fast. The Red Scarves had captured her and taken her prisoner! And she was helpless to do anything about it! Lilac began panicking. She had to escape and escape NOW.

"Hey Lilac, you're awake." murmured a familiar voice beside her.

She turned around and saw that directly beside her, Carol was standing with her hands chained above her head too. The wildcat had nasty bruises on her face from the fight with Natalya and she looked as if still in pain from the fight. Lilac could feel her heart sinking into her stomach with shock. Carol had been locked up too! A nasty thought crept into her head as she thought about something else. She turned to her other side and with horror, saw that Milla was also chained up in the cell with her and Carol. Milla looked extremely uncomfortable since the shackles were so short that they were pulling her up onto her tip-toes. If she took her feet off the floor, she would dangle. Milla had an ugly bruise on her head from when Natalya had backhanded her. All three girls had been stripped off of their winter coats too, presumably just to make them feel colder in the cell. Lilac felt sick with anger. How could Natalya do this to her and her best friend?! And even worse, do this to Milla, who is a KID?! She knew full well that Milla had been in a cell before. She, Carol and Lilac had been imprisoned by the Magister when he hadn't believed their story on Lord Brevon. That made Lilac wonder briefly about her extra-terrestrial friend, Torque. How was he doing now? And would he come to Avalice again, maybe in time to help her and her friends break out of this cell? Lilac knew that was wishful thinking. They would have to break out themselves.

"Guys! Thank goodness you're both alive…but imprisoned like I am." murmured Lilac, tugging feebly on her chains.

"Here's another fine mess we've gotten into." sighed Carol angrily, "We go looking for Milla's parents then suddenly, we end up in the dungeon of the Red Scarves. You know Lilac, it was a BRILLIANT idea to go adventuring again wasn't it?" she muttered, glaring at Lilac as if the whole thing was her fault, "When are you gonna learn that being Little Miss Heropants isn't always the best idea?"

"Do you realize that if we hadn't done anything, Mayor Zao would have been killed?!" snapped Lilac, "How would that make you feel if Zao had been killed because we hadn't done anything?!"

"I'm sure his guards could have saved his hide." snorted Carol, "Who said that we had to be the ones to save him?"

"And what if they HADN'T?" said Lilac coldly, "Then Shang Mu would have a Christmas to remember…for all the wrong reasons!"

"Please stop fighting, you're upsetting me!" whimpered Milla, her eyes already brimming with tears, "We should be escaping, not arguing!"

Both dragon and cat glanced over at the hound and then back at each other. They sighed softly and gave each other apologetic glances.

"You're right…I'm sorry Carol." said Lilac glumly.

"Hey don't sweat it." said Carol sadly, "I'm sorry too. I need to learn that just because we get into danger, it doesn't mean doing this hero stuff is wrong."

"Yeah. There's a reason we do this. Because it's the right thing to do." murmured Lilac, "Now how are we gonna get outta these chains?" she added, glancing up at the shackles around her wrists.

"Maybe we could ask them nicely to let us go?" asked Milla hopefully.

"Yeah right, like that'll work." sniffed Carol, "Hey Natalya, be a pal and unchain us will you? We promise to behave ourselves and not try to attack you again!"

The sarcasm in her voice was unmistakeable. As much as she hated Carol's rudeness, Lilac actually found herself agreeing with the cat. Natalya wasn't the person where all it took for her to do something for you was to ask her nicely. They would have to break out on their own. Then suddenly, the door opened up and Lilac found herself staring directly at her worst nightmare once again. For through the open door and into the cell strolled Natalya the Lead Scarf. The trench-coated martial artist somehow looked scarier than ever even though nothing had changed about her appearance. Lilac assumed it was because she was completely defenceless. Natalya could do what she liked to the captive dragon and Lilac wouldn't be able to block any of her attacks. The dragon gulped as Natalya approached her. The helmeted figure leaned forward so the orb of her helmet was directly in Lilac's eye line. The dragon just pressed herself hard against the wall as if hoping to phase straight through it. She was expecting Natalya to attack her again and had already closed her eyes in fear. But Natalya did something strange. She didn't attack Lilac. Instead, she reached out a hand and lightly touched the young woman's cheek. The eerie thing about the touch was how gentle Natalya was being. She was giving the kind of touch that a mother gives to a daughter when trying to put them into good spirits when she felt down. Lilac opened her eyes and gasped at the display of gentleness from this woman. What was going on?! Natalya had just spent their first meeting in a long time beating her up! She had even knocked her out and now she was being gentle on her as if they were old friends?! This was not normal behaviour at all and Lilac didn't like it. Carol didn't seem to like it either.

"Hey! Get your hand off of my friend!" she snarled viciously.

Natalya did not seem to have heard. Or maybe she had heard and had chosen to ignore her. The wildcat wasn't sure which. Natalya lightly began to stroke Lilac's cheek, making the dragon feel increasingly nervous.

"Hello Sash Lilac." purred Natalya in a tone dripping with venom that tried to disguise itself as sweet, "I'd been hoping to meet you again."

"What? So you can kill me for turning traitor?!" snapped Lilac, "You should be scorning my name, not touching me affectionately as if I'm an old friend of yours! What are you playing at Natalya?!"

"Nothing."

The single word had come out cold and sinister, making Lilac feel even more anxious.

"Do you remember when you were a member of the Red Scarves?" said Natalya softly, her voice almost gentle and even motherly like as she spoke, "I know you'd rather not remember that but hear me out. Contrary to what you might believe my child, you was my favourite student when you were with the scarves. I always admired how tough, obstinate and unbreakable you were. My harshest training exercises couldn't stop you and despite my...harsh treatment of those who failed, you were still loyal to the scarves...until that unfortunate day but let's not talk about that. You were a miracle student Lilac and your betrayal...it's left me with an emptiness that can never be filled. I enjoyed having you on the team Lilac and now we meet again, I want nothing more than to have you back at my side. You will not refuse my dear otherwise...there will be consequences."

Any attempt at sounding genuinely kind had been betrayed by the harsh, cold words Natalya had spat out at the end. Lilac's reaction was not one the woman had been hoping to receive. She seemed disgusted to hear this and even her friends seemed to share her scorn for the woman for having the gall to say those things.

"Uh, am I the only one finding this creepy?" asked Carol, her face screwed up in disgust, "A grown woman's talking nicely about a teenage dragon as if she's got a crush on her. That's just gross!"

Natalya seemed to take offence to this for she suddenly whipped out a dagger that just seconds ago had been hidden up her sleeve and she pointed it straight at Carol's throat. The cat suddenly dropped her usual impetuous attitude and began shuddering fearfully.

"I will thank you for NOT talking Carol Tea. We're trying to have an INTELLIGENT conversation." snarled Natalya, "Unlike Lilac, I have nothing but contempt for you and you should be thankful I've spared your pathetic life."

Carol supposed Natalya was right. She shouldn't give this evil witch a reason to kill her, especially since Natalya had nothing but hatred towards her. She had always been the one student that Natalya had been annoyed at the most due to how rude and cheeky she often was, sometimes directly at her face. Carol decided not to push her luck and she said nothing more. Natalya put the dagger back up her sleeve and left Carol alone.

"So...what have I done to make you want me back in particular?" asked Lilac curiously.

"Simple. You're a dragon." replied Natalya.

"That's it?" asked an incredulous Lilac, her eyes opened wide and her mouth drooping open, "You like me because I'm a dragon?"

"What's not to like?" sniffed Natalya, "Avalice's three kingdoms were inspired by a dragon and dragons came specifically to Avalice for reasons we don't know about. That is something special. And I admire the dragons for how special they are, how special they've made Avalice. And the fact they mixed with our ancestors makes it even MORE special! You only exist because of a dragon Lilac! You're very special, especially to me! I adore dragons and the fact that a dragon came to join the Red Scarves...it was the most special day of my life! That's why I want you back my child. You make my group special!"

"You sicken me..." snarled Lilac, "You beat up my friends, kidnap us, chain us up and now you expect me to apologize for betraying the scarves and beg for me to come back?! Well Natalya, let me tell you something. This dragon will NOT make your group special anymore! You can take the Red Scarves and shove them where the sun doesn't shine!"

"Yeah Natalya, go screw yourself you creepy little witch!" growled Carol, "Lilac isn't re-joining the Red Scarves and that is final!"

"So you may as well just let us go and be done with it!" added Milla, hoping that she sounded as tough as her friends just to show Natalya that she didn't scare her.

Natalya's face was unreadable although Lilac, Carol and Milla didn't need to see through the visor to see what Natalya's face was possibly looking like. They imagined she was fuming angrily at them for daring to say no to her yet again. But Lilac's words had hurt her the most. She was praising her just for being a dragon and this was how Lilac repaid those compliments?! She never knew her favourite student could be so ungrateful. Natalya was still, eerily silent and unmoving for a good few minutes. The girls looked nervous. Milla wasn't sure what to expect whereas Lilac and Carol imagined she was already racking her brains for a way to deal with the situation. They knew how this woman operated. She went through options at the speed of a supercomputer and quickly made a decision. Natalya had decided on what to do now as she slid her mauve coloured hands into her coat pockets.

"So be it." she muttered, "Lilac, I didn't want to have to do this but you've forced me to take drastic measures."

She then looked over her shoulder and bellowed at the top of her voice.

"GUARDS!"

Lilac was surprised. Natalya actually had guards outside of the cell? Did she really think that her prisoner was so dangerous that she needed guards outside the cell in case Lilac attacked her? Seemed a bit pointless since Lilac couldn't even break free of her chains. Four Red Scarf ninjas filed into the room and Lilac was quick to notice that they were carrying unusual equipment with them. Two ninjas carried a chopping block between them and the other two ninjas had a pair of axes each. That struck Lilac as odd. It was like Natalya knew she was going to say no so she had set up this contingency as a just-in-case. What were they going to do? Threaten to cut her head off unless she said "Yes"? The answer was beyond what Lilac could have expected. Two of the ninjas suddenly produced keys to Carol and Milla's chains and they quickly unshackled the two. This really surprised Lilac. She was letting her friends go now? No, she couldn't be. Natalya had to be up to something. Then she suddenly realized that the chopping block and the axes had pretty much spelt out what Natalya was going to do. The two ninjas that had freed Carol and Milla then grabbed the dog and cat and forced them down onto their knees, their heads resting on the chopping block. They squirmed desperately, trying to get free but the ninjas with the axes held the blades close to their necks. Carol actually felt the cold, sharp edge of the axe blade threatening to swing down and slice her head of. Milla began to cry. She had had nightmares of losing her head before after watching scary movies due to her enjoyment of being surprised. Now it was going to happen for real. Lilac tugged on her shackles frantically, trying desperately to break free.

"NO! NO! Not that! Don't kill them!" shrieked Lilac, "Please Natalya, don't take away my friends!"

"You refused Sash Lilac." said Natalya coldly, "Now I'm punishing you for it. You may not be a scarf anymore, but you're not safe from my trademark punishments."

"You're a monster!" bellowed Carol defiantly, "I hate you so much!"

"I cannot say I harbour any love for you either Carol Tea." snapped Natalya, "Guards, kill them both!"

"NO!" screamed Lilac, her eyes streaming with tears as she saw how desperately out of control the situation was, "Please Natalya! Spare their lives! I beg of you!"

"You have two options now my dear." said Natalya bluntly, "Re-join the Red Scarves...or watch your worthless friends die. It's as simple as that."

Lilac already know what option she was choosing. With anger in her heart and great reluctance, she lowered her head and spoke.

"I'll re-join the Red Scarves." she spat angrily, "Just please spare Carol and Milla! I won't re-join if you kill them!"

Natalya smirked from behind her helmet. She was used to getting her own way and now she had scored another point for herself. How easy it was to make this pathetic little girl crack and cede to her demands! Natalya turned to the guards.

"Release them." she ordered.

The guards let Carol and Milla go and they filed out of the room with the axes and chopping block. Lilac felt relived to see them leave and she breathed heavily. She was glad she had saved her friends lives but she hated herself for choosing to re-join the Red Scarves. Had she had a choice, she would've just left Natalya and returned to her search for Milla's parents. Natalya then surprised Lilac by whipping out a key and using it to free her from her shackles. As Lilac lowered her arms and rubbed her wrists better, Natalya stood over and with her hands behind her back, observing her closely.

"You made the right choice Sash Lilac." purred Natalya, "And this time, you won't be betraying me again. If you even THINK about turning on me, I will kill your friends. If you tell anybody that you've been blackmailed into re-joining the scarves, I will kill your friends. If you try to tell ANYBODY where we're hiding...you know what will happen."

"Yes Natalya." said Lilac, scowling bitterly.

Natalya promptly slapped the dragon across the face. The slap sounded cringingly loud in the confined spade of the cell and Lilac actually winced in pain from the strike. She placed a hand on her cheek and gritted her teeth. She wasn't surprised how hard Natalya could slap. But she had been surprised at how gentle she had been earlier and yet she still had it in her to physically harm her.

"You will refer to me as Mistress Natalya now!" she barked, "You're mine now so you will use my title!"

"Sorry...Mistress Natalya." snarled Lilac.

"And you will NOT talk to me in that tone young lady!" Natalya snapped.

"Sorry again, Mistress Natalya." the dragon replied, her tone more placid but still containing hints of scorn and defiance towards her leader.

"That's better." the helmeted woman said.

"So, what will become of Carol and Milla?" asked Lilac curiously, hoping the answer wouldn't be something ominous or gruesome.

"Carol will re-join the Red Scarves like you have." Natalya announced, "I still have scores to settle with her and as a reward for your cooperation, I will allow you to have your best friend by your side. The one you call "Milla"...she is to remain in this cell. She will be my way of keeping you and Carol on a tight leash."

"What?!" squeaked Milla in horror.

"If you and Carol conspire against me, try to escape, tell anybody that you're being blackmailed OR reveal our hideout to anybody...I will kill her. And I am not a woman of hollow threats. One wrong move...and I dine on dog meat. Do you children need any further clarification?" she asked in a fake sweet voice.

"No Mistress Natalya." sighed Lilac and Carol in unison.

"Very good." purred Natalya sinisterly, "Now you three can rest together in this cell until tonight. Then I shall let you know what's in store for you both. Oh and since it's morning, you'll have a long wait until tonight."

Lilac was astonished. It was morning?! She'd been out the whole night?! Then again, Natalya had hit her pretty hard so she supposed it wasn't hat farfetched to have been unconscious for the whole night. It did mean that she and Carol had a long, boring, agonizing wait in this cell, something that she didn't like at all. With nothing more to say, Natalya turned on her heels and left the cell, locking it shut behind her as she did. The moment she left, the snivelling Milla threw herself into Lilac's arms like a scared sister wanting comfort from her elder sibling. She cried into Lilac's chest and hugged her so tightly that it felt like she never wanted to let go.

"That woman was horrible!" she whimpered, "She was going to let them ninjas cut my head off! She's a monster! I don't wanna be in this cell anymore!"

"Ssssh ssssh, it's OK Milla. You're safe. Natalya won't hurt you." said Lilac warmly, stroking the dog's ginger hair gently.

"Well this stinks!" moaned Carol, "We're back with those filthy scarves and all because Natalya wants to satisfy her dragon fetish or something! How could she do this to us?! And how could she actually threaten to kill an innocent little girl like Milla?! Man I hate her so much!"

"You have no idea how much I hate her as well Carol." muttered Lilac, "I had hoped we'd seen the last of her hideous, helmeted face when we left the scarves. But no such luck. Now we're spending Christmas with the Red Scarves, which need I say, is two days away now?"

"Yeah, some Christmas this'll be." snorted Carol venomously, "Worst. Christmas. EVER! And to think I was looking forward to it too..."

"We all were." sighed Lilac, "But...I'm afraid we have no choice. It's work for Natalya or spend Christmas in a coffin buried underneath tonnes of dirt in a lonely graveyard. And I know full well I'm not ready to die yet."

"N-n-neither am I." snivelled Milla, "I really hope th-that my mommy and daddy, wherever they are, are safe from those awful Red Scarf people. I h-h-hope th-they find me and rescue me from that awful Natalya woman."

"Sorry to bust your bubble Milla-girl but Natalya kinda kicked OUR asses out there." said Carol sadly, "And we're the girls who took down LORD BREVON of all people! What chance will Miguel and Lela have against Natalya?"

"Nobody has a chance against her." murmured Lilac, "And that's why we're doomed. Doomed to be murderers for the rest of our lives. I'm sorry girls...but this is it for us. And there's nothing we can do about it."

Carol and Milla both nodded grimly. This was the worst day of their lives. Kidnapped and blackmailed by the Red Scarves and now Lilac and Carol would do what Natalya told them to do while Milla spent many a lonely hour in the cell waiting for the two to return. Things couldn't possibly get worse for them now...

* * *

_**Yikes...Natalya's a cruel bitch isn't she?! 0_0**_

_**Well...how will our heroines get out of this one? We shall find out as we continue next time...**_


	4. Dinner with the Devil

_Chapter 4: Dinner with the Devil_

Lilac had lost track of time in this small, isolated, lonely cell that she and her friends were locked up in. She wasn't even keeping track of anything. She was in a deep, much needed sleep since Natalya was giving her and Carol until tonight before she recruited them for something. Being as she and Carol were going to be operating at night, it made perfect sense for them to be sleeping the day away in the cell.

They had nothing to do in the cell. There was nothing to play with and nothing to even watch. Even just sitting around talking had become boring and thus the trio had decided to just lie down and sleep the boredom away. Lilac, Carol and Milla had been lying on the cold, hard floor for hours before they all drifted off and after falling asleep, they had lay there peacefully with the only sound in the cell being their gentle snoring. Lilac was lying with her arm around Milla and Milla was curled up like a dog in a basket, cuddling the arm Lilac had around her like a teddy bear. She was even sucking her thumb sweetly as she snoozed. Carol seemed to be sleeping the noisiest, her snoring louder than Lilac and Carol's but she was lying by herself. It was clear she preferred her own company when sleeping rather than to snuggle up to somebody. As she slept, she looked like a tired house cat snoozing lazily in front of a warm fireplace. For the rest of the day, the three girls were totally at peace, resting from their beating courtesy of Natalya last night and not having a single worry on their minds. None of them seemed to have the energy to dream, adding more to the peaceful slumber all three of them were mercifully lost in.

But then their sleep was rudely interrupted by the loud sound of banging against the cell door. There were about five loud bangs before the girls began to wake up. Lilac's eyes opened groggily whereas Milla was wide awake in one second. Dogs were notoriously easy to wake up. The moment a noise was heard, a dog was awake in a millisecond. Carol still seemed to be tired though for she didn't wake up. She just turned over onto her stomach and mumbled sleepily under her breath.

"Ooooh…five more minutes…" she mumbled, her eyes still closed as she continued to snooze.

Lilac sat up straight and let out a huge yawn as any trace of sleep left in her disappeared. She was now wide awake and up on her feet, stretching as far as she could stretch. Milla stood up beside Lilac, holding onto her as if hoping Lilac could somehow perform some kind of miracle and get herself, Milla and Carol out of the cell. Carol was still snoozing on the floor but she was soon full awakened as Lilac sharply kicked her in the rear. Carol leaped up onto her feet like a cat who's accidentally jumped into water.

"Whoa, where am I, who am I, what am I, where's my chips?!" she blabbered frantically.

"Calm down Carol." murmured Lilac grimly, "I think Natalya's ready to see us now."

"Really?" gasped Carol in surprise, "Huh…must have slept for a long time if it's night time already."

"Says the one who usually sleeps half a day…" snorted Lilac.

"I hope Natalya isn't going to hurt us!" whimpered Milla, hugging Lilac tighter than she probably should have been doing.

"Relax Milla, she has no reason to hurt us." said Lilac softly, "Natalya won't hurt us as long as we comply."

The girls got a surprise though for the cell door unlocked and opened up and in walked not the trench-coat wearing martial artist that the girls had been expecting, but her right-hand man Spade. It made no difference to Carol though whether it was Natalya or not. She really hated Spade as much as she hated Natalya. She had once thought that Spade was cool but then came the time he has crossed the one line she and Lilac wouldn't cross and now she hated him with all her heart. Lilac was relatively more composed but she still didn't have much love for Spade herself. Seeing him was still more preferable to seeing Natalya though. She noticed Spade had a bag over his shoulder. What did it contain? Nothing good she supposed. As Spade caught sight of the girls, he grinned sadistically at them.

"You all look terrible." he crowed, "Natalya really roughened you up last night didn't she? You still look badly battered and beaten."

"OK wise guy, you just asked for it!" snarled Carol furiously, punching her fists together, "You and I are gonna tango and we're gonna tango REALLY violently!"

"Carol, you will do nothing to Spade!" hissed Lilac, "Lest you give Natalya a reason to kill you! We're only just keeping her from killing us all as it is!"

The wildcat was still glaring at Spade with nothing but seething contempt in her eyes and her teeth gritted very hard to the point of cracking. But Carol knew that her dragon friend had an excellent point. It was better not to annoy that the lion that was keeping them captive in her pride. She unclenched her fists and let out a loud sigh of relief.

"So what brings you hear than you walking deck of cards?" sniffed Lilac nonchalantly.

"Mistress Natalya has sent me to fetch you and the feline brat." said Spade stoically, "You are to have dinner with her before tonight's big event."

The mentioning of the word "dinner" suddenly made Lilac, Carol and Milla realize that they hadn't really eaten all day and now they suddenly felt ravenously hungry. Their stomachs growled in unison and the girls blushed a little, embarrassed at how loud their stomachs were growling.

"Oooh I'm starving…" said Milla, rubbing her growling belly gently, "I hope there's something good for dinner tonight…"

"As hungry as I am though, tell her Royal Bitchiness that we're not interested in dining with a she-devil like her!" snarled Carol angrily.

"Yeah Spade, kindly inform Natalya that we'd rather she just brought dinner to our cell and left us to eat in peace." said Lilac, scowling bitterly, "I'd rather dine in here than with her."

"Suit yourself brats." sighed Spade, shrugging casually, "Natalya also told me to tell you that if you refuse her request, she'll serve the dog as the main course."

Milla went pale with shock. That was the second time Natalya had threatened to dine on her! What was with that creepy woman?! Did she have a ravenous taste for dog meat or something?! Lilac and Carol felt sick with disgust and they both sighed loudly.

"Fine, we'll eat with her." sighed Lilac in annoyance, "But what about Milla? Is she coming too?"

"I've just brought her some food. Natalya doesn't like having children at her dinner table." said Spade bluntly, throwing the bag he had on his shoulder at Milla.

The bag landed directly in front of Milla and the dog opened it to see that there was a bunch of sandwiches and a packet of rice for her. They were sealed in packets but weren't past their sell-by dates. They were still fresh and smelt quite nice. Milla didn't mind this since she was getting some decent food at the most but she did mind the fact Lilac and Carol were having to dine with Natalya while she was left on her own. She hugged Lilac desperately as if not wanting to let her go.

"Oh please let me come!" wailed Milla, "I don't want to be in this cell on my own!"

"Tough." spat Spade, "It's either that or Natalya punishes you for disobeying orders little brat so quite snivelling."

"Leave her alone you jerk!" snapped Carol angrily, "She's got enough grief as it is! She doesn't need you to add more grief onto her!"

"Talk to me like that again Carol and I'll ask Natalya to break your neck." said Spade coldly, "Now come on you two. Natalya doesn't like to wait!"

"Talk about impatient…" muttered Carol under her breath.

"We're sorry to be keeping her waiting." muttered Lilac sarcastically.

With that said, the dragon and wildcat forced themselves to walk out of the cell and follow Spade to Natalya. Just before the left for the dining room, Spade closed the door shut behind the girls and he locked it, keeping Milla trapped inside the cell with nothing but the food he had given her. Milla ran up to the door and feebly started pounding on it, desperate to be let out.

"Please let me out!" sobbed Milla, tears streaming down the white-furred dog's eyes, "I'll be good! I promise! Just don't leave me in here all alone! Please!"

The red-scarf wearing panda ignored the hound's whimpers and cries and continued to take Lilac and Carol away to meet with his insidious boss. The dragon and wildcat listened to Milla howling miserably as they were taken away. Milla upset and crying for any reason whatsoever was enough to break their hearts. Lilac shed a tear for Milla, imagining what it must feel like for the frightened puppy. She had been alone since she had last seen her parents and now she was alone again, locked in a cell in the territory of a terrifying woman. It must be traumatizing for the poor girl. Lilac and Carol were mercifully spared anymore heart-wrenching wails from the hound as they turned a corner and walked down a corridor with Spade leading them. In the cell, Milla just slumped by the door and cried like a dog who's lost its owner. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks and her sobs were so loud that she wondered if her friends could still hear her. Her dinner went on ignored as Milla sobbed uncontrollably. She didn't want to eat despite her hunger. She just wanted her friends back and to be out of the Red Scarves's territory. As she cried though, two Red Scarves walked casually by her cell only to stop when they heard the sobbing that was coming from inside. To their horror, they saw that the sobbing belonged to Milla as they peered through the barred window to see who it was. The two Red Scarves looked at each other in shock. The two Red Scarves were Miguel and Lela and they were horrified to see that Natalya had locked up their own daughter in a cell. They knew that Milla couldn't spend her life in the cell. They had to get her out. Seeing their daughter as a captive, Miguel and Lela decided to start planning an escape. They gathered close together and whispered hastily to each other.

"That monster! She's got our daughter!" whispered Lela in fright.

"What she's kidnapped her for, I don't want to know…" murmured Miguel, "We need to break her out before that witch can harm her!"

"But how?" whispered Lela worriedly.

"We'll have to find the key to the cell…or something that can pick open the lock." suggested Miguel, "Either way, Milla's NOT staying in that cell! We're getting out of this place…and we're getting out with our daughter!"

"I hope we'll succeed Miguel my dear…" said Lela with concern in her whispering voice, "Or we're all dead…"

Miguel nodded agreeably. This was an operation that could just as easily end in disaster for them but they were not going to let their baby girl suffer as a prisoner of Natalya. They were going to escape with Milla in tow and nothing would stop them…

* * *

Meanwhile, Spade had taken Lilac and Carol to the hideout's dining room. As they had walked through the corridors of the drainage tunnels, Lilac and Carol were getting bad memories of their time living in this hideout. As members of the scarves previously, they would have considered this place home. They considered it more like a prison now, especially since they had been forced to rejoin the Red Scarves against their will and with no way out of their predicament without dire consequences. Spade knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The dining room door was large and rectangular with a seam down the middle, suggesting it was two doors that met together. Spade received a response from Natalya, ordering him to come in. He opened the doors and ushered Lilac and Carol through the doors and into the dining room. The dining room was large and wealthy looking with luxurious cushions for the girls to kneel on and a polished wooden table that the food was neatly served on. A delicious smell filled the girl's nostrils. It was the sweet smell of sushi, something they both greatly enjoyed. The sushi was served on china plates and set on the table with chopsticks nearby for the girls to eat them with. Natalya was there, her hands clasped together all authority like and despite being unable to see her face because of her helmet, Lilac was sure that the creepy leader was staring at her and Carol, observing them closely and making sure they weren't plotting anything. Natalya had a plate of untouched sushi just in front of her. She had obviously been polite enough to wait for her guests to arrive. Lilac and Carol approached the table and knelt down on the cushions before the delicious plates of sushi they were supposed to eat. The moment they sat down, Natalya broke the silence.

"Good evening girls." she purred politely, "I hope you enjoy sushi."

"It's one of our favourites." muttered Lilac bitterly, picking up the chopsticks and preparing to eat.

"I do hope that it's not poisoned." said Carol venomously, "If it is, I'm not eating a bite!"

"Oh come now Carol Tea, would I go through the trouble of getting you and Sash Lilac back into the Red Scarves if I was going to poison you?" snorted Natalya, "The food is completely uncontaminated. It's safe to eat."

"I demand proof before I eat it." muttered Carol, "Let Spade taste it for me so I know for certain it's not poisoned."

"Just eat your dinner before I lose my patience!" snapped Natalya angrily, thumping the table angrily with her fists.

"Just do as you're told!" Lilac hissed through gritted teeth, "Do you wanna get us killed?!"

Carol sighed loudly and promptly picked up some sushi with her chopsticks. But before she could eat, Natalya clasped her hands together as if in a prayer. She lowered her head and behind the helmet, she closed her eyes.

"Itadakimasu*." she said quietly.

The phrase meant "I humbly receive" and was part of etiquette at a dinner table in an upper-class home on Avalice. Lilac and Carol supposed they were supposed to do the same thing. They put down their chopsticks and repeated Natalya's prayer-like gesture.

"Itadakimasu." they both said.

Then the girls began to eat. But just as Lilac and Carol had their first mouthful of sushi, Lilac suddenly began to wonder something about their leader.

"Say, how are you going to eat Natalya? You still have the helmet on." noted Lilac.

Natalya didn't even reply. She rather answered the question with a demonstration. She reached up to the silver mouth plate on her helmet and removed it with a little tug with her hand. The mouth plate slid neatly off of her helmet and she set it down on the table beside her. Lilac could see her lips had mauve skin around them and she appeared to have sharp fangs. The ponytail had made her wonder if she was reptilian at all, now the fangs made her feel certain she was a reptile of some kind. But what? A lizard perhaps? Lilac still had no idea on Natalya's true identity but she could at least say she'd seen more of her face than anybody ever had in their lives. It was only her mouth but it was still more than nothing. With the mouth plate removed, Natalya began to eat as well. She picked up some sushi with her chopsticks, holding them as elegantly as a well-mannered, upper-class lady of true aristocracy and she popped her food into her mouth. She chewed slowly, savouring every mouthful and not once chewing with her mouth open. Lilac and Carol had to admit, Natalya was truly very classy despite being the leader of a group of murderers and thieves. Lilac and Carol ate their own food, trying to show Natalya that they could be as well-mannered as she was. They didn't really enjoy their food since being in the presence of a woman as evil as Natalya had left a bitter taste in their mouths. They still forced themselves to eat for they were starving and they needed to eat or they wouldn't be very useful to Natalya. After the sushi had been eaten, Natalya snapped her fingers and a waiter, who was also wearing a red scarf to go along with his waiter's uniform, took the plates away. She put the mouth plate back onto her helmet before speaking. Lilac and Carol supposed she only ever spoke when the mouth plate of her helmet was on.

"The sushi was just to start. The main course will be chicken gyoza and crispy seaweed. Hope you have room for the main course, you'll enjoy it as much as the sushi."

"I will admit, you sure hire the right guys to cook your food." said Carol, cursing herself in her head for giving the fiendish woman a compliment, "The sushi was surprisingly nice…and un-poisoned too."

"Glad to hear that Carol Tea." said Natalya, her voice not really matching her words and sounding a little too grim for somebody who was glad to hear something.

"OK, while we wait for the gyozas to arrive, what do you want us for?" asked Lilac curiously, "And why were the Red Scarves targeting Mayor Zao yesterday? What's he done to get onto your kill list?"

"So glad you asked me my dear." purred Natalya softly, her voice carrying some menace in her words, "For you're about to be a part of my big operation…The Christmas Raid."

"The Christmas Raid?" repeated Lilac curiously.

"Let me guess, it's a raid taking place on Christmas." muttered Carol, pretty much stating the obvious for herself.

"Not entirely." corrected Natalya, "The raid started last night but I call it "The Christmas Raid" for the raid takes place over a period of three days. The first two lead up to Christmas and the raid concludes on Christmas Eve itself."

"Well if it's called The Christmas Raid then why are you trying to murder Mayor Zao?" asked Lilac curiously, a sense of unease tingling in her stomach.

"Simple." Natalya explained in a tone of voice that suggested Lilac should already know the answer to the question, "It's a raid in the sense that we raid the three kingdoms of Avalice and we raid their leaders of their lives."

Carol suddenly snapped her fingers as she put all the pieces of the puzzle together in her head. It all began to make sense to her and she now fully understood the evil woman's plan.

"I get it now! You're stealing from the leaders of the kingdoms and plotting to kill them! And Mayor Zao was just the first step! Yes! I've got you all figured out now Natalya!"

"You really do have a brain after all." the Lead Scarf muttered sarcastically, "That's shocking."

Carol frowned at Natalya, clearly offended by the woman's remark. But she didn't trust herself to say anything in fear of pushing her leader's buttons. Lilac instead spoke for her.

"Carol's not stupid Natalya. She's just…stubborn." she said sheepishly, "Anyway, that plan of yours is…ambitious I must say. But what's the point of it all?"

"Are you really this slow-witted or are you just obfuscating stupidity to annoy me?" sighed Natalya rudely, "Why do you think I'm doing all of this Sash Lilac?"

Lilac considered for a moment. What need would Natalya have to kill the three leaders of Avalice? She didn't suppose the vile criminal needed a reason aside from just to be cruel. But then Lilac had a terrible thought. It was so evil that she didn't think even Natalya could be that cruel. But she considered that as far as Natalya was concerned, nothing was too evil for her.

"You…you want to take over…the kingdoms!" stammered Lilac, scaly face very pale and her eyes widened in horror, "Once you dispose of the leaders, you'll take their places!"

"That's silly Lilac, she can't split herself into three parts and rule all three kingdoms at once!" snorted Carol.

"Indeed so, which is why I will be ruling Shuigang once King Dail is disposed of. Shang Tu and Shang Mu will have a scarf of my choosing ruling over them." Natalya explained, her head resting on her clasped together hands as she spoke, "Then when Shang Tu and Shang Mu are given new rulers, they will form an alliance with Shuigang that fuses all three kingdoms into one big kingdom just for me to rule over. So in a way…I CAN rule three kingdoms at once. And once I'm on the throne, I shall be the most powerful woman in the world. Avalice will be mine and everybody will bow down to me."

"You're mad!" protested Lilac frantically, "You're insane! You are the embodiment of mental! You can't do something like this! Nobody has the right to kill innocent people, destroy the already fragile peace our kingdoms have and rule over them all! And in case you haven't realized Natalya, it's almost Christmas! The season of goodwill to Avalician kind! It's the time of year where we have peace on Avalice and happiness all around! You can't spoil all that for everybody!"

"My darling Lilac, you indicate I actually CARE about this pointless celebration you morons call "Christmas"." snorted Natalya, her tone menacing but her voice mostly controlled and steady, "But you're sorely mistaken. I DO NOT CARE about Christmas. I do not care about anybody but myself, the scarves and you. Avalice is weak and the kingdoms are just pathetic. You mentioned it yourself, the peace between them is mild at best. But one wrong move and they all turn on each other like rabid dogs. My intentions aren't all that bad Sash Lilac. Once the kingdoms are united under MY leadership…we'll all be at peace and no kingdom will ever fight against another ever again. I'm not the bad guy here my child, I'm a saviour and Avalice will be a better place thanks to me."

"More like it'll be worse because of you!" snarled Lilac, "Nobody will accept you as the ruler of Avalice, especially since YOUR group will be the ones that kill our leaders! And did you think for a minute that you might have people warring over you if you succeed? You'll have those who worship you and those who despise you! You're not improving anything Natalya, you're making things worse! And because of this, I refuse to be part of this operation! You may as well just kill me now and not waste your time with me!"

"Yeah! Go to hell you she-devil!" shouted Carol hotly.

It was impossible to tell what Natalya was thinking when looking at her helmeted face but Lilac and Carol could sense that they had crossed the line by reading the woman's body language. She was clenching her fists hard and her shoulders appeared to shudder in rage. But despite this, Natalya remained as composed as either, unclenching her fists and clasping them together again.

"Fine then." she muttered, "I warned you what would happen if you defy me. I guess you do want to know what dog-meat tastes like after all. Spade, tell Milla that she's invited to dinner as well…"

"No wait, we're sorry, we didn't mean it!" squealed Lilac frantically, "We stepped outta line! But we won't do it again! We promise!"

"Yeah! Pinky swear!" exclaimed Carol.

"If you two break that promise…" snarled Natalya.

She raised her fists and then slammed down hard onto the wooden table, cracking her end of the table and sending splinters flying everywhere. That made the normally tough, highly-spirited dragon feel increasingly nervous. Natalya could damage a solid, wooden table with just one hard slam! No wonder it was considered foolish to get on the wrong side of her! Lilac lowered her head, not daring to look into Natalya's helmet visor again.

"I…I understand…Mistress Natalya." she mumbled.

"Good." Natalya spat angrily, "Now then girls, let's forget about all this nonsense and enjoy the rest of our dinner. I believe the main course is here at last."

Surely enough, a couple of waiters arrived behind her, carrying steaming bowls of chicken gyoza and crispy seaweed. With no more need to talk, Lilac and Carol waited for the waiters to serve out their food. They had both lost their appetites after the conversation with Natalya but they knew the evil woman would probably force-feed them if she had to so they decided to just eat anyway. As they dined with Natalya, Lilac and Carol knew that the whole situation had just gotten even worse for them. They had to escape from this woman's evil grasp…and FAST…

* * *

Back in Shang Tu, The Magister watched as the sun began to set and night time arrived on Shang Tu again. He was a little disappointed about last night. General Gong and Mayor Zao had gone over to Shang Mu to see if the Red Scarves were still around. To the Mayor's disappointment, there hadn't been a single scarf in sight. But what was more troubling, especially for General Gong since he knew them well, Lilac and her friends were nowhere in sight either. This was troubling to the Magister. He still owed the girls much for their valour in saving Avalice from a terrible fate at the hands of Lord Brevon. It had also been thanks to the girls that any of Brevon's remaining forces had finally been disposed of. So the fact they weren't in Shang Mu with any battered and beaten Red Scarves around them told the Magister something he didn't want to be thinking about. They must have been captured. All day, he had been waiting for his army to return to the palace with the good news that the trio had been found, along with the Red Scarves. He was disappointed to see that nobody had managed to find them and now the day was dusking, he would have to call off the search for the night and have the palace defended for in case the Red Scarves came to him looking for Mayor Zao. He supposed that Shuigang would be doing the same. He had passed Zao's message onto King Dail of Shuigang and warned him to keep all eyes open for the Red Scarves. Dail had responded positively and assured the Magister that the scarves wouldn't get anywhere near him or his kingdom. The Magister still couldn't quite understand why the scarves were after Mayor Zao. They hadn't targeted any ruler of Avalice in their time thus far so it seemed to be a strange change of tone for the insidious groups. He knew they were thieves and assassins but they hadn't attempted to kill anybody of royal heritage before. This made the Magister feel uneasy. If they were targeting Zao, would they target anyone else related to royalty? They could even target him at some point! This was the reason as to why the Magister was setting up a trap for the Red Scarves to fall into. They'd never suspect a thing if they dared to come to the palace and try to assassinate him and Mayor Zao.

The Mayor himself was being kept safe inside the Magister's dungeon. He had objected to such an idea and had thrown a hissy fit over it but the Magister had insisted to him that it was for his own safety. The Red Scarves would never even THINK of looking for him in a dungeon. It was the last place they would ever think to look in so the Mayor would never be found. Zao supposed that the idea was logical enough but his rather fussy, pompous demeanour had ended up with the cell being made to look more inviting just for him. The Magister and General Gong had brought down a spare bed for the Mayor to sleep in and they had put up some decorations to brighten the cell up. They had also left the cell door open for the royal red panda didn't want to feel closed in. He felt more comfortable knowing that the door was open. Satisfied, Zao was now tucked in for the night and snoozing away peacefully in his cell. Hopefully when the Red Scarves were all captured, he'd be able to return to his palace and live safely without any worries of ever being assassinated. As he slept though, he hoped dearly that Lilac, Carol and Milla were alright. He was uneasy about them being gone when he and General Gong had combed the city for the Red Scarves last night. He wanted to know if they were alright and had been disappointed to hear that the Magister's men hadn't found them yet. They had to be somewhere and he knew it. But where, he had no idea and that made him worry for them. They had saved his life and sent him to get help but it seemed that the Mayor wouldn't be able to return the favour…

As for the Magister, a beautiful young girl with black hair, a black and purple uniform and black boots approached him from behind. She carried a staff that gave her icy powers and she could form solid ice cages to catch any intruders that dared to try and sneak into the palace. Her name was Neera Li. She was once from Shuigang but she had defected to Shang Tu after Dail had been brainwashed by Lord Brevon, hoping to knock some sense into her former prince. Despite Dail being restored to normal, she still remained loyal to the Magister, feeling that her place was with him rather than at Shuigang. She stood to attention behind the Magister, her posture rigid and authoritative.

"The trap is almost ready sir." explained Neera, her tone calm and polite as she spoke, "There's one more thing left to do and then we're ready."

"Thank you Neera." the Magister replied stoically.

"I sincerely hope that with this great plan of yours Magister, we at the very most capture their leader." murmured Neera grimly, "We get the leader, we bring those filthy bandits down once and for all. The Red Scarves will be nothing without a leader."

"Precisely." the Magister agreed, "We could also trade the leader's life for the disbanding of the scarves but when the scarves disband, we don't return their leader to them. We keep the leader locked up for life and imprison the rest of the scarves, but keep them away from the leader to prevent them from regrouping."

"Sounds like a good idea your majesty." said Neera approvingly, "One more thing Magister. Do you…think that Lilac and her friends are alright?"

"I am hoping that is the case." the Magister murmured, "It's troubling to think that the dragon girl and the wildcat were once Red Scarves themselves. If they've captured the two, they might execute them for treason against them. Or maybe they'll do worse. That is why I'm disturbed we have been unable to find them. The hound, she's not a former Red Scarf so it's possible they may just dispose of her as if she's worthless to them…or try and shape her into one of their own. A child can be easily manipulated." he added, his words heavy as she spoke them.

"I hope they're not hurt or dead." the royal priestess said, her voice with a tone of concern that she didn't often use, "They saved Avalice, they're the heroes of the world. It would be a dishonour to lose them like this…"

"It would indeed Neera. It would indeed…" the Magister murmured grimly.

Both royals knew that tonight was going to be a very long night. The trap was set and the Red Scarves would fall for it. And once they'd captured whoever was likely to come traipsing around the palace, they could try and get some valuable information out of their prisoner. And maybe find out if Lilac, Carol and Milla were still alive…

* * *

Dinner had just concluded in the Red Scarves's hideout and now Natalya was preparing Lilac and Carol for the raid on Shang Tu. The time was right. It was dark outside and most of the city would be falling asleep. Part Two of The Christmas Raid was about to begin and Lilac and Carol were the unlucky Avalicians who had been picked to take part in it. They stood to attention before Natalya as the group leader began expositing about their task tonight. The girls listened, with frowning faces and total silence, to every word the woman spoke.

"As you know, the raid on Shang Mu was only partially successful." purred Natalya, "We raided the mayor's palace but thanks to your interferences, Mayor Zao got away. The same will not be happening tonight though. You two and a group of ninjas will raid the Magister's palace. Do NOT leave a single piece of treasure behind. Raid the place clean of all riches."

"Yes Mistress Natalya." mumbled Lilac.

"Speak up!" snapped Natalya, "I can't stand mumbling!"

"Yes Mistress Natalya!" Lilac shouted back at her, accidentally allowing too much anger to seep into her voice.

"And what have I told you about talking to me in that tone of voice?" the Lead Scarf growled menacingly.

"Oh for goodness sake, why not just stop Lilac for talking altogether if you're so picky and hard to please?!" sighed Carol loudly, "Next thing you know, you'll tell her off for sneezing…"

Natalya ignored Carol and kept her gaze fixed on Lilac. The dragon could feel the woman's helmeted visor staring deeply into her eyes, and quite possibly her very soul to see if she knew her inside and out.

"Anyway, the ninjas you will be taking are the ones who will raid the palace." explained Natalya, "You two will not be robbing anything."

"Then what's our job?" asked Lilac nervously, feeling that somehow, she already knew the answer.

"To kill the Magister." Natalya hissed venomously.

The dragon and wildcat stared at Natalya as if her head had just fallen off and rolled across the floor but her body was still alive. Natalya was ordering them to kill the Magister?! She was forcing them to cross the one line that they would never cross, the very thing that had caused them to leave the Red Scarves in the first place?! Lilac decided she wasn't going to put up with this fiendish woman's evil any longer. She was putting her foot down and it was staying down this time.

"NO." Lilac said coldly.

Natalya bent down and stared straight into Lilac's eyes, clearly trying to work out her favourite student and why she was refusing her orders.

"I'm sorry. I didn't hear that." snarled Natalya, her voice dripping with poison, "What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

She seemed to spit the words out as if they had a bad taste in her mouth.

"I said no!" spat Lilac angrily, "I refuse to kill the Magister! Don't you remember that we have lines that we don't cross and killing is one of them!"

"Yeah! Why do you think we betrayed you monsters in the first place?!" growled Carol angrily, "Spade murdered somebody and we didn't like that so we left! We'll work for you Natalya but we will NOT kill for you! So give the job to somebody else!"

Natalya's response was to spin around and smack both Lilac and Carol in the faces with her scaly ponytail. As the two were whipped, Lilac found herself wondering what that ponytail was. It felt like a tendril, much like her own twin tendrils. It was leathery and whippy like her tendrils but at the same time, the dragon wondered if the ponytail was even real. Was it just an attachment or a feature on her helmet to give her some kind of weapon? Lilac and Carol could both agree on one thing, it really was a powerful smacker. The one smack had bruised both girl's cheeks and they clutched their throbbing cheeks in pain. Natalya stood up straight with her hands behind her back and the cold gaze of visor glaring at the two defiant girls.

"You will do as you are told otherwise Milla will find herself having her life cut short." growled Natalya, "How many times do I have to keep warning you two before you finally get the message? I'm in control here and you two are completely powerless. If you have to make me remind you of that again, then I will kill Milla regardless of what apologies you give. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal Mistress…" growled Lilac furiously.

It was amazing to think that just having Milla in her parlour was enough for Natalya to keep her and Carol on a very tight leash. But Lilac had to agree that Natalya was in control of everything. She held all the cards in her hand. As long as Milla was a prisoner of hers, she and Carol were her loyal servants and as long as they served Natalya faithfully, Milla would be safe. But as long as Milla was hers, they couldn't do anything about Natalya. Lilac made it her top priority to try and make sure that Milla somehow escapes from this evil hideout so that Natalya couldn't keep blackmailing her and Carol with the dog's life. Once Milla was safe, they'd have more of a chance. For now, she just had to play along with Natalya's evil game. She glanced back up at the black-clad woman before her. Natalya was looking down at her with her arms folded.

"That's better." purred Natalya softly, "Now my dear Lilac, what are we going to do for your loving Mistress Natalya?" she added, feign sweetness added to her voice just to insult Lilac and make a mockery of her.

"Me and Carol are going to kill the Magister." replied Lilac.

"And we're not going to object about it are we?" sneered Natalya.

"No we're not Mistress Natalya." the dragon girl replied, slight annoyance edging her tone of voice.

"That's excellent." the martial artist said, her voice allowing a rare display of happiness to be heard in it, "There's just a couple more things that need doing before you go."

She then reached into the pocket of her long coat and pulled out two things. A red neckerchief and what looked like a speaker device with a sharp, long pin on the end and a clip that would fit around the pin and keep the speaker in place. Natalya walked around behind Lilac and grabbed one of her tendrils. The dragon shivered, feeling the cold touch of her leader's hands on her rope-like hair. She only liked it when her friends touched her tendrils, especially Milla. Feeling Natalya touch it made her feel violated. She wondered what she was going to do with her tendril. Stick the speaker on it perhaps? She found the answer as Natalya aimed the pin of the speaker at Lilac's tendril and stabbed down with it. Lilac shrieked like a wounded animal as the pin penetrated her tendril and emerged through the other side. Blood streamed down the leathery skin of her tendril. Carol cringed. She imagined that must have hurt very much.

"OUCH!" wailed Lilac, "What the hell are you doing back there?! That hurts!"

"I'm fitting you with a little speaker device." replied Natalya, slipping the clip onto the edge of the pin to keep the speaker from falling off Lilac's tendril, "It's just to make sure I can trust you two to behave yourselves. I'll be listening to every conversation you have Sash Lilac. I have a mike in my helmet so I will hear everything you say no matter where you are. And the speaker has an unlimited range so no matter how far away you are, you'll not go about unheard of. If I hear you trying to tell anybody what's going on or where we are…then I guess you know what will happen next."

"OK, now you're just plain messed up." muttered Carol, "You sweet-talk Lilac as if she's your own daughter earlier and now you're eavesdropping on her like some deranged stalker. Are you naturally this creepy?"

"If making sure I can trust you troublesome girls is "creepy" then I'm gladly guilty." sniffed Natalya, not even looking at Carol as she spoke.

She then proceeded to tie the red neckerchief she had in her hand around Lilac's neck. Lilac assumed it was meant to reinstate her status as a member of the Red Scarves. The dragon felt sick having to wear the neckerchief now. It was a symbol of the group she had turned on, a symbol she had never wanted to wear ever again. Now Lilac had it on again. With the neckerchief on, she was officially a member of the Red Scarves once again. Natalya walked back around to the front of Lilac so she could admire her handiwork. She seemed pleased with herself.

"Welcome back to the Red Scarves Sash Lilac." she purred delightedly, "How it fills my heart with joy to see you, my best student ever, wearing that red scarf again."

"I didn't think you had a heart…" snorted Lilac.

"Now then my girls, you are ready for your mission." Natalya continued, ignoring Lilac's remark, "Do NOT come back to me unless you have a dead body on your hands. And said dead body better be the Magister's…otherwise there will be punishments in store for you two."

"We won't fail you Mistress." said Lilac, forcing herself to bow down before her leader.

"Yeah, we'll be back before you can say "Kingdom Stone"." sighed Carol, bowing down with Lilac, "And we'll do your dirty deed."

"I know you will." said Natalya coldly, "Now go Sash Lilac and Carol Tea! Make your leader proud once again! Raid the palace and kill the Magister!"

"Yes Mistress." both Lilac and Carol said at once.

They left the room and headed off to do the evil deed that they had been assigned to. As they walked down the corridor, Carol glanced over at her best friend. She could imagine how horrible Lilac must be feeling right now. Forced against her will to rejoin the Red Scarves and forced to carry a speaker with her so Natalya could monitor her every move. The wildcat felt like hugging Lilac although she had a feeling it wouldn't really help her all that much. She instead just sighed and spoke to her.

"You know what I wish Lilac?" asked Carol softly.

"What?" asked Lilac curiously.

"I wish we'd never met the Red Scarves." the wildcat muttered sourly.

"If we'd never been a part of them…this wouldn't be happening to us." the dragon sighed agreeably, "This is gonna be the worst Christmas ever…"

"I know. We're gonna end up killing somebody, something we swore we'd never do." murmured Carol, "Some way to spend Christmas. I wouldn't be too surprised if by Christmas Day, our yearly Christmas present is an assignment to kill somebody again."

"And Natalya will be the one to give it to us." mumbled Lilac, "Oh how I wish this was a nightmare…a nightmare that I'll soon wake up from and everything will be just fine."

But the dragon and wildcat both knew that it was far from a nightmare. It was reality, a reality that Lilac and Carol would loathe for the rest of their lives. And they couldn't do anything at all to escape from it…

* * *

**Footnotes:**

***It's a Japanese phrase, fitting in with Japanese/Chinese theme of Avalice and its three kingdoms.**

* * *

_**Oh dear...this is NOT looking good. Will Lilac and Carol kill The Magister? Will Miguel and Lela rescue Milla and thus, free Lilac and Carol from Natalya's evil grasp? Will the Christmas Raid be stopped? All these things and more next time in Chapter 5...**_


	5. Disastrous Raid

_Chapter 5: Disastrous Raid_

The sky was pitch black, the only source of light being the full moon that shone brightly in the black void up above that shrouded all of Avalice in darkness. The wintry air was chillier than ever with skin-biting winds and freezing snow. No new snow had fallen at all today but it was still deep enough to swallow up somebody's foot should they go walking around in it tonight. Icicles had formed on the roofs of some houses, hanging down like sharp, translucent teeth ready to bite down on anybody who walked underneath them. Shang Tu was truly going to sleep on a very cold night, one of the coldest that the city often experienced in a winter month like December.

As the city slept for the night, shadowy figures roamed through the silent streets and headed towards the Shang Tu Royal Palace. They blended in perfectly with the darkness of the night, not one feature on the figures glaring or giving away their appearances. The figures were Red Scarf ninjas, ten of them in total all silently traipsing around Shang Tu and keeping an eye out for danger. Only eight of them were generic Red Scarf ninjas though. The other two were Sash Lilac and Carol Tea. After being assigned with the task of killing their friend, The Royal Magister of Shang Tu, the two reluctant Red Scarves had dressed up in ninja attire and had joined the squadron of eight Red Scarves that would be raiding the Royal Palace while they themselves did the dirtier part of the job, assassinating the Magister. Even as Lilac and Carol mobilized with their squadron and made their way towards the Royal Palace, they still resented the job they had been given. And they really hated Natalya for being so cruel and giving them this job. But they both knew that they had no choice. It was do Natalya's bidding or allow her to mercilessly kill their friend Milla and both dragon and wildcat were not prepared to let Natalya kill an innocent puppy who was much too young to die now. And yet they were about to kill somebody who they were on good terms with. Lilac remembered how the Magister had been untrustworthy of her and Carol during Brevon's attack on Avalice due to their pasts as former Red Scarf members and after realizing how wrong he was, he had sent Lilac on a mission just so he knew if he could trust her. Since then, Lilac and Carol were officially on the Magister's good side but now the girls were about to betray that trust. And that was a feeling much worse than anything Lilac had ever felt before.

In a matter of minutes, the Red Scarves had reached the Royal Palace. They all took shelter behind a nearby house and they observed the palace closely with observant eyes that were well-trained for usage in the dark. The dark didn't hinder them in the slightest. They could see just as well in the dark as they could in daylight. The Royal Palace looked silent and still, not a single guard in sight. The moonlight gleamed off of the palace's shiny paint. This came off as puzzling to Lilac and Carol. Surely the Magister would be protecting himself against any possible attack from the Red Scarves? They had sent Mayor Zao to warn him about the scarves yesterday night! Did the Magister not believe the Mayor or had the Mayor simply not reached him? Whatever the reason was, the dragon and wildcat both agreed that something wasn't quite what it seemed.

"This isn't right, where are the guards?" whispered Lilac.

"I guess the Magister doesn't think he needs them on patrol tonight." Carol whispered back.

"Maybe but that doesn't seem quite in the Magister's character." the Avalician dragon murmured, "He's usually quite cautious and I know for certain that at the very least, General Gong and Neera Li would be on patrol. You know how loyal they are to the Magister."

"Sash Lilac? What are you and Carol Tea whispering about?" hissed a voice that Lilac wasn't in the mood for hearing right about now.

The Hero of Avalice had almost forgotten that Natalya had attached a speaker device to one of her tendrils and was keeping an eye on them through it. She could hear everything she said and whatever was going on around them. Lilac rolled her eyes, wishing Natalya could give her a moment of peace for once, and she answered.

"The palace is unguarded Mistress. We're quite suspicious about it." she hissed back.

"Any bright ideas creepy-girl?" muttered Carol.

"Approach with extreme caution." replied Natalya, "It could well be that the Magister WANTS you to go in. He may have a trap set up for you."

"Understood." answered Lilac.

That thought gave Lilac a bit of hope that the Magister had indeed been warned about the Red Scarves and that he had indeed set up a trap for them. If that was the case then she'd happily let herself fall for it so she could have an excuse to spare the Magister's life. She knew though that she shouldn't make it deliberate, Natalya would probably be able to tell from the sounds that Lilac was springing the possible trap on purpose. If she was caught, she would have to act surprised and not thankful for being caught. Lilac turned to her black-clad ninja squadron and whispered to them.

"Approach with extreme caution." she hissed, "Our leader suspects a trap is in play."

The ninjas nodded and did exactly that. They emerged from their hiding place and began to approach the palace with extreme caution. They moved silently and slowly, watching their every step so they wouldn't make a noise that would give them away. This was where being a ninja had its perks. Not a sound was made as the squadron of ten approached the majestic palace they had come to raid. Lilac and Carol could swear that the palace seemed to just grow and grow in size as they approached it. It seemed to be fitting for the Magister's wealthy lifestyle.

Upon reaching the palace, the Red Scarves jumped into action. They had not chosen to use the front door since it was too obvious a place to use and there would likely be guards waiting for them on the other side of the door. They had instead chosen to get in through one of the windows. Still a likely place for a guard to be at but less obvious and far more subtle than just going through the front door. The window nearest to the group was a few feet out of reach to the scarves got out a grappling hook and one of the ninjas started to swing it around. He threw the grappling hook up high and the hook attached itself to the edge of the palace roof. Lilac wolf-whistled, impressed he had been able to throw the grappling hook up that high. She knew that she wouldn't have thrown it that high even if she tried. The Red Scarf pulled on the rope to make sure it was firm and then he climbed up the rope and to the window. The others waited while the Red Scarf on the rope prepared to get them through the window without causing any noise. Smashing the window was an invitation to waking up anybody or alerting the guards inside. They had to do this subtly or their raid was going to be a complete failure. The scarves were still mad that they had failed to kill Mayor Zao so they were desperate to succeed in their mission tonight. Upon reaching the window, the Red Scarf took out a thin, sharp piece of metal and he used it to carve a large hole in the window that would be big enough for himself and the others down below to file into the palace one by one. After carving the circle, he licked his hand and pressed it against the carved piece of glass. The glass stuck to his hand and he pulled it away. He looked inside through the hole he'd made in the window. There was an upper floor directly beneath the window with a staircase leading down to the bottom floor. They could climb through the window and land softly down onto the floor underneath it. There was nobody in sight. Either the scarves were lucky tonight or the Magister didn't give a darn about security. The ninja shrugged and prepared to go in. But then the ninja was stuck wondering what to do with the glass he had stuck to his hand. He couldn't just throw it down or it would smash and likely alert anybody inside the palace. The ninja then decided the most pragmatic idea was to climb down the rope and put the glass piece down on the snow. He whispered to his comrades.

"Cost is clear." he whispered, "We can all sneak inside through the window and spread out."

"Me and Carol will look in any of the upstairs rooms for the Magister." said Lilac, "The rest of you, search the bottom floors for whatever you can steal."

The ninjas nodded approvingly. They knew that Lilac and Carol were the ones who were committing murder and that they were the ones who had been assigned to stealing. The eight ninjas weren't entirely sure if Lilac and Carol were really the best choices to murder the Magister since the two weren't as evil as they were. They even thought Natalya had made a terrible mistake and that she should have assigned at least one of them to kill the Magister. But they knew that when Natalya made her decision, she stuck to it and it was near-impossible to get her to change her mind. She wanted Lilac and Carol to murder the Magister so that's what was going to happen. And if they refused, they could easily give the girls a "polite" reminder on the consequences of their refusal to carry out the deed. With the plan in motion, the Red Scarves began to ascend up towards their entry point. Lilac and Carol felt more nervous than ever as they climbed up the rope towards the hole in the window. This was it, the moment where they crossed their one line they wouldn't cross. The dragon and wildcat didn't even want to imagine what it would feel like when they killed the Magister. All they knew is that they would regret it for the rest of their lives. Lilac even wondered what Milla would think if she heard about it. The poor dog would be devastated and would likely never look at her or Carol the same way again. Such a thought made the dragon's heart ache with despair.

The Red Scarves climbed through the hole in the window and as soon as the whole squadron was inside, they began to spread out. The eight ninjas all ran downstairs, moving as silently as possible, and began searching for anything valuable to steal. In a palace as opulent as this, they would likely have a lot of choices. Lilac and Carol were sure that they would take a while, giving them plenty of time to focus on their own task. Lilac reached into a pocket on her outfit and pulled out a tantō. A tantō was a Japanese dagger ranging from 15-30 centimetres in length. The one Lilac carried was the full 30 centimetres in length and the blade was double edged. It was a wicked looking weapon and perfect for an assassin to wield. It was small enough to conceal and easier to wield. Lilac felt sick holding it. The weapon would signal the day she betrayed herself and killed somebody in cold blood. Damn that Natalya for making her do this! Lilac imagined betraying the scarves again and using the dagger on Natalya herself. The pleasing image wasn't enough to make Lilac feel better though.

"OK Carol...it's time." she whispered to her friend.

"Indeed it is." whispered Carol sadly, "You know Lilac, don't kill the Magister. I can't bear to see the heartbreak on your face when you do it. Let me do it instead."

"No Carol, I'm going to do it and that's final." hissed Lilac, "Natalya demands that I do it personally. If I do it...she says that I have her full and willing trust."

She had wanted to talk about how gaining Natalya's trust would make it easier for herself and Carol to betray her again but she chose her words with care so the eavesdropping Natalya wouldn't suspect anything. Any thoughts she didn't want Natalya to hear, she kept firmly to herself.

"More like she's making you do it because she's got a creepy lust for you." the green-furred feline sniffed unhelpfully, "Seriously, she acts like you're her kid or something. A kid to push around and use as a weapon that is..." she muttered, scowling bitterly over the harsh treatment she and Lilac had received since their capture.

"She's somebody I would never want as a mother..." the specialized, lilac-coloured Avalician sighed grimly.

The conversation ended with the two walking down a corridor and searching for the Magister's bedroom. If there was anywhere the Magister was likely to be, it was in his bedroom. The two imagined their mysterious friend asleep in bed, enjoying the luxury of retiring for the night and possibly having pleasant dreams. Only tonight, he wouldn't be waking up again. Lilac and Carol had not seen the entire Royal Palace during their visits to the place. They had mostly just seen the grand hallway and balcony and of course, the dungeon. The two supposed that if they were caught red-handed, they'd end up in there again, this time for good. Part of Lilac wanted to get arrested since it meant Natalya couldn't use her anymore. But what if she came to the Royal Palace for her? Natalya would just break her out of prison and then it would be back to square one for her. No matter what Lilac thought about her situation, it seemed like it was truly hopeless for her. She was doomed to be a Red Scarf forever.

She put the thoughts out of her mind and tried to focus on her job. She and Carol peeked through a door in the corridor and saw that the room on the other side of the door was nothing of interest to them. It was a study, presumably for anybody writing out letters to send to the other kingdoms. Maybe the study had been used to send a warning to Shuigang about the Red Scarves. The two girls closed the door and walked down the corridor until they came across a pair of grand looking doors with golden handles and blue paint. This must be a bedroom of some kind and it had to belong to the Magister. Lilac tried the door and to her surprise, it wasn't locked. The Magister really wasn't very big on security was he? The dragon could only wonder as to why everything seemed to easy. It was almost as if the Magister WANTED somebody to sneak into the palace and assassinate him. There were no guards on patrol and the bedroom door was unlocked! At the same time, the dragon began to feel nervous. If things seemed TOO easy then that had to mean there was something dodgy going on. Regardless, Lilac opened the door and peered inside. She found herself looking into the wealthiest bedroom she had ever seen in her life. The bedroom was huge with a double poster bed, luxury carpets, opulent wardrobes and ornate windows. There was somebody sleeping in the bed. It was the Magister himself. Much to Lilac's surprise, he still had his trademark headwear on. He looked surprisingly comfortable despite sleeping with it on. Maybe the Magister was so used to wearing it that he didn't mind if he slept with it on. Lilac grabbed her tendril and turned her head slightly towards the speaker she had pinned there.

"We've found him." she whispered, "He's asleep in his bed."

"Good." Natalya replied quietly, "Now kill him. I want to hear you penetrate his heart with the dagger."

"Yes Natalya." murmured Lilac, letting go of her tendril and looking back over towards the Magister.

"I don't think I can watch..." said Carol worriedly, "I'll...I'll stay out here and keep watch outside. I can't bear to watch you murder Lilac."

"Then stay out here." the long-haired girl said, "Natalya didn't say you had to watch me kill him after all."

Carol nodded and Lilac walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her so Carol wouldn't have to watch the gruesome scene that was about to happen inside the bedroom. Hopefully the closed doors would drown out the sound of the Magister's pained screams so Carol wouldn't have to listen to her best friend murdering the blue-robed royal who was sleeping soundly in bed. Lilac gulped, her hands trembling and the tantō wobbling with them. Her heart was pounding and she could feel tears coming to her eyes. Her life was about to be destroyed forever. She couldn't do this! But what about Milla? Natalya would kill her if she dared to refuse. But what if Natalya killed Milla regardless of her loyalty anyway? She had no use for the dog unless she planned to make he a Red Scarf when she was older. Lilac shook the thoughts out of her head. She couldn't be distracted, she had to do her job or allow Milla's life to be heartlessly snatched away from her. The tears now trickling down her cheeks, Lilac approached the bed and held the tantō dagger with the blade facing downwards. She could see the Magister, his head turned to his right and facing away from Lilac so she couldn't see his face. He was totally unaware of what was happening. As Lilac prepared to do the deed, she briefly noticed that the quilt wasn't raising and falling in time with the Magister's breathing. She ignored it. Maybe the Magister was a shallow breather or the quilt was too thick for his rising and falling chest to push it up and make it look noticeable. Lilac did her best not to sob loudly as she raised the tantō above her head.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered to the Magister.

Tears falling heavier down her face, Lilac closed her eyes and stabbed down. But to her surprise, the tantō penetrated the Magister's body but no scream of pain was heard. The tantō also hadn't felt like it had stabbed a fleshy surface. It almost felt like she'd stabbed straight down onto the bed. Lilac opened her eyes and received another shock. There was no blood seeping out around where the dagger had been plunged. What was going on?! Lilac pulled the wicked dagger out of the Magister's body and to her surprise, the blade was completely clean! No blood on it at all! Lilac dropped the tantō in horror. This could only mean one thing... scarcely daring to breathe, the purple-haired dragon grabbed the duvet and pulled it back. She let out a shriek of surprise as she saw that she hadn't stabbed the Magister. She had instead stabbed a huge, rolled up carpet that had been placed in the bed to act as the Magister's body. The headwear was real but the "head" It sat on was not. it was a black ball that was small enough for the headwear to sit on. Lilac had been tricked. The Magister had played her and Carol for total saps. The dragon knew that there was something dodgy going on and to her relief, it was the fact the Magister had laid a trap for the Red Scarves. She had a feeling the eight ninjas on the bottom floor would get a nasty surprise themselves. The door opened and Carol poked her head nervously inside.

"Is it over yet Little Miss Killerpants?" she asked worriedly.

"We've been tricked Carol!" gasped Lilac, faking shock to fool Natalya, "The Magister isn't in his bed at all! Look!"

She showed Carol the makeshift dummy that had been used to make them think the Magister was in his bed in the first place. Carol put her hands to her head in alarm, also feigning shock to make sure that Natalya was convinced they weren't pleased it had been a trick.

"Holy galoshes!" exclaimed Carol, "If the Magister's not here then...w-w-where i-is h-he?" she stammered.

"That would be telling girls." said a familiar voice that made the dragon and cat leap a foot into the air in shock.

Both dragon and wildcat spun around on their heels to see where the voice had come from. There was nobody in the room but them it seemed. Had they imagined the voice speaking to them? But then they realized what was going on. A wardrobe in the corner of the room flung open and out strolled Neera Li. The two girls remembered her all too well. She had been the one to expose them as former Red Scarves to the Magister and because of her, they had been imprisoned and valuable time had been wasted in stopping Brevon. Neera had come to terms with them after realizing that she was wrong but the girls didn't like her as much as the Magister. Now she was here, emerging from inside the wardrobe like a ghost come back to haunt people. She had her deadly ice sceptre at the ready and her face was cold and emotionless. If looks could determine the temperature then Neera's face would create a deep freeze.

"Well, well, well…looks like the former scarves are now back with them." Neera noted icily, "I should have known you two scoundrels were untrustworthy."

"It's nice to see you too." snorted Carol sarcastically.

"How convenient you forgot about how me and my friends saved all of Avalice!" snapped Lilac, "And you have the nerve to say WE are untrustworthy after all we've done?!"

"Once a thief, always a thief." said Neera casually, her voice radiating confidence and total control, "So…have you come to not only kill Mayor Zao but the Magister too?"

"Wait, Zao's here?" gasped Lilac.

Her mind was spinning. Zao had made it to Shang Tu and warned the Magister about the Red Scarves! That's how the Magister had known they were coming! He must have set up this trap to catch the Red Scarves, thinking they were coming for Zao himself! But why was Neera hiding in a wardrobe the whole time? The Magister couldn't possibly have known he was being targeted. Then Lilac thought about something. Perhaps the Royal Avalician had suspected he would be targeted since Zao had been targeted so he had set his Royal Priestess up in the wardrobe as a contingency plan. Deep inside, the dragon girl was going wild with excitement. The Magister had spared her the chance of becoming a murderer! And Neera Li was here to arrest the two! Maybe if she could get Neera to fight her, she could hopefully get the speaker on her tendril broken. Lilac decided it was worth a shot. Neera Li continued.

"Yes. He warned us that you and your friends had prevented an assassination on his life so the Magister cleverly devised a plan that would see the scarves captured and their plans foiled." explained Neera Li, pointing the sceptre at her two intruders, "Anybody downstairs right now will likely have been battered and beaten by General Gong and his men, who are hiding below ground and waiting for them. In fact…"

She paused for a moment as she touched something inside her ear. She was wearing an earpiece and was now using it to call the general.

"General Gong, have you captured any intruders yet?" she asked curiously.

"Yes I have Neera!" the army general announced delightedly, "Eight Red Scarf ninjas have now been locked up! The poor saps didn't suspect a thing as we pounced on them!"

"Excellent." said Neera, smiling smugly at Lilac and Carol as if expecting them to be horrified at the news.

Secretly, Lilac and Carol were ecstatic to hear the news. The Red Scarves's Christmas Raid was going completely wrong! Mayor Zao had quite single-handedly saved the Magister's life by warning him in time and spared him the horrors of seeing his palace robbed! And to think it had been a good idea to tell him to warn the other kingdoms Lilac thought gleefully. As is, she couldn't tell Neera the truth yet, she still had a speaker to get rid of so Natalya wouldn't hear anything. So the dragon girl pretended to be horrified at what Neera had said to her.

"No! Our squadron's been captured?!" shrieked Lilac.

"Yes they have. And now I'm arresting you two for betraying us and joining the Red Scarves again!" snarled Neera Li, spinning her sceptre around and preparing to fight, "Why did you do it anyway? Do you seriously hope to gain something from their filth?!"

"Let's just say we got the warm and fuzzies and decided to switch sides." lied Carol, "Now put them up or shut up you stupid panda girl!"

"Release our friends and we won't hurt you too badly!" growled Lilac. She hated herself for having to put up this evil act but she knew that it would keep Natalya from getting suspicious.

"I'd like to see you traitors try…" the sceptre wielding panda scoffed confidently.

Then she pointed her sceptre at the two girls and fired beams of ice towards them…

* * *

Milla wasn't sure how long she had been in the cell on her own. It felt like an eternity had passed since Lilac and Carol had been taken out to dine with Natalya and they hadn't returned yet. The hound imagined that the two had been forced to commit some heinous crime for the Red Scarves and were likely outside the hideout robbing whatever it was they had been told to rob or whatever it was the Red Scarves did. Never in her life had Milla felt so alone and so frightened. She was in a cell, all alone with nobody to comfort her and ease her through the crippling sense of claustrophobia that was beginning to creep over her. She hated being locked up. She hadn't enjoyed being a prisoner of the Magister when he had gotten suspicious of Lilac and Carol due to their pasts and she certainly wasn't enjoying being a prisoner of the Red Scarves. It was even worse in this case since in the Magister's cell, she could actually escape from it. There was no way out of this cell though, nowhere for her to dig out of and no way of breaking down the door. No loose floor panels or loose ceiling tiles, nothing. She was completely trapped and without Lilac and Carol to comfort her, she felt nothing but loneliness and despair.

Milla had been so upset and tearful that she hadn't even touched the food that Spade had kindly given to her earlier. She was too upset to even feel hungry right now. She had pretty much just laid against the door, curled up like a pet dog in a basket, and cried until she felt like she couldn't cry anymore. Now she was just lying on her side against the door, still curled up but no longer crying. She felt exhausted from crying so much and she was about ready to fall asleep. Sleep would give her some comfort in this nightmare and hopefully in her dreams, she would be reunited with Lilac, Carol and her parents. Sleep was one thing Milla enjoyed for precisely that reason. In dreams, she was back with her parents and it always gave her a great comfort.

But just as the sweet-hearted puppy closed her eyes and prepared to fall asleep, she heard footsteps outside the cell. Milla jumped up onto her feet, her heart skipping crazily in fright. Who was it? Was it Natalya coming to hurt her? Or was it Spade making sure she had eaten her food? Would she be beaten for not eating? Milla put her hands to her mouth, her body trembling with fright. She could hear the footsteps stopping outside the cell. Then she heard something insert into the door's lock and pick at it inside. It didn't sound like a key in the lock. That struck Milla as odd. Why would Natalya or Spade or indeed any Red Scarf come to her cell but not use the key to unlock the door? It was like somebody was using a makeshift key to pick the lock. Had Lilac and Carol gotten away from Natalya and found something to pick the lock so they could get her out of the cell and away from the Red Scarves? That made Milla feel more excited. Maybe she was going to be freed after all. But Milla got the most pleasant surprise of her life as the lock clicked and the door opened up. She backed away from the door as it opened and the canine's eyes opened wide at who had just opened the door. Standing directly before her, a hairpin inserted in the lock to pick it open, were two hound dogs who looked very much like her. They were adults and they were dressed in ninja attire but Milla saw past the outfits to see who they really were. She knew the two dogs and the two dogs knew her too. They smiled at the little puppy they had come to let out of the cell.

"Hello precious." said the female dog gently.

"It's so lovely to see you again Milla." the male dog said.

Both dogs were crying happy tears upon seeing their little girl again. Milla's eyes streamed with happy tears as she realized that she was looking at the faces of the two Avalicians she had wanted to see again after such a long time…her parents.

"Mommy! Daddy!" squealed Milla excitedly.

Without any prompting, she leapt into her crying parent's arms and hugged them both as tightly as she could. This was a dream come true for her at last! She had found her parents and was now back in their arms. The Basset family hugged and cried for each other, not wanting to let go of each other for a moment as they felt the joy of being reunited again at long last. Lela gave Milla a loving kiss on the lips, the two dogs wagging their tails gleefully as they did so.

"Oh my little baby girl! I've been so worried about you!" she wailed, running her hands down her daughter's back.

"We're so glad to see you again angel-face." said Miguel kindly, embracing Milla and his wife both at once, "We thought we'd never see you again."

"I've missed you so much!" cried Milla, "I've wanted to see you again after I lost you both! I've even wished about it! Now you're here, I'm never losing you again!"

"We won't lose you again my sweet Milla, and that is a promise." said Lela, rubbing noses with her daughter happily.

Milla giggled, the sound making her parents feel warm inside for their daughter giggling was one of the most pleasant sounds they could ever hear in their lives.

"So where have you been mommy and daddy?" Milla asked curiously, "Why did you abandon me? Why are you dressed like ninjas? Are…are you both members of the Red Scarves?"

Miguel and Lela knew that Milla would start asking questions so they had already prepared themselves to deliver the answers. Sighing heavily, Miguel answered his daughter's questions.

"Sweetheart, we didn't abandon you. Me and your mother would NEVER abandon you." he explained, his tone heavy but gentle, "We love you Milla. You're the best thing that's ever happened to us. We would never abandon you like that. The last time you saw us wasn't us being neglectful. We had been kidnapped, by the Red Scarves. They were looking for new recruits after some girls named Lilac and Carol turned on them and we were the first ones they came across. They snatched us away and their leader, Natalya, forced us to join them."

"We wanted to let you know where we were Milla, but Natalya wouldn't hear of it." explained Lela, "She feared we would compromise their location. She said that you were welcome to rot in the wilderness for all she cared. She hates children after all."

Milla looked horrified to hear her parents saying this. She had been alone all this time because of Natalya?! She had forced her parents to join the Red Scarves and wouldn't let them tell her where they were and how they were doing?! The dog seldom got angry over anything. She had been angry at the world for the fact her parents had gone and left her on her own but had been suppressing it the whole time. But now, Milla was feeling more angry than she had ever felt in her life. She wanted to beat Natalya up for doing this to her. Her being alone in the woods without knowing where her parents were had been all Natalya's fault and she had to pay for it. But something didn't quite add up.

"If you're Red Scarves…when why didn't you come forward the time me and Carol sneaked into their hideout?" asked Milla, "During Lord Brevon's attack a few months, Carol took me to their hideout to ask Spade for help."

Miguel and Lela were surprised. Milla had been in the Red Scarves's hideout before? How unfortunate of them to have missed her at that time! Miguel once again, delivered the answer.

"Me, Lela and Natalya weren't there at the time." explained Miguel, "We were investigating about a meteor that had crashed in the mountains and Spade had been left in charge of the scarves while Natalya was away. The meteor we found turned out to be a spaceship and it belonged to some weird alien with a large unibrow. Lord Brevon I presume?"

"That's him." said Milla.

"Thanks." replied Miguel. "So anyway, we investigated it until Shang Mu and Shang Tu's armies came to attack it. We watched as the ship took off and were amazed to see it be destroyed."

"We saw you with the dragon girl and wildcat that Natalya had told us about but Natalya didn't let us go anywhere near." explained Lela, "Once the ship had been destroyed, she forced us to return home and leave you once again. We're so sorry that you've been alone for so long Milla, we really are." she added sadly, hugging her daughter again.

"It's OK mommy and daddy, I understand." said Milla tenderly, "You had no choice but to serve that mean old Natalya. But now we're back together, we can escape from this dreadful place and then Natalya can stop using me as a hostage to make Lilac and Carol do what she says."

"She did WHAT?!" shrieked Miguel in horror. This was new to him and Lela. They hadn't been around when Natalya had been making threats to Lilac earlier.

"She used me to make Lilac and Carol do what she says!" exclaimed Milla, "Natalya even had two ninjas come in and threaten to chop off my head! And Carol too!"

"Oh that beastly woman!" squeaked Lela in disbelief, "How could she do this to our poor baby Miguel?! She's a monster! A total monster!"

"All the more reason we need to get out of here." murmured Miguel, his face bleak but his eyes carrying all the hate he had for Natalya, "Let's go before..."

"You three are not going anywhere." purred a deep, feminine voice that froze the blood of the three canines in the cell.

Milla, Miguel and Lela turned around and got the shock of their lives as they realized they were suddenly not alone. Standing outside the door with her arms folded was Natalya the Lead Scarf! The helmeted criminal was glaring directly at the dogs, the visor of her helmet somehow managing to look more unnerving than it had done before. Milla had been angry at Natalya for kidnapping her parents and forcing them to be Red Scarves but now Natalya was here, in person, she lost any sense of anger she had and was back to being afraid of her. Miguel and Lela stood protectively in front of Milla, clearly wanting to show Natalya that she didn't scare them anymore. The woman didn't seem bothered at their display of bravado.

"Should I be surprised that you two have come to rescue your stupid daughter?" she scoffed, "The moment I had Milla in my grasp, I knew you two were going to turn on me and attempt to escape with her in tow. I had hoped that you two wouldn't be so stupid as to fall for such an obvious trap though..." she muttered, her voice sounding like she almost pitied her unfortunate comrades.

"You KNEW this was going to happen?!" exclaimed Miguel in disbelief.

"Don't act so surprised, of course I knew this was going to happen!" snapped Natalya, "Think about the logic for a minute! I have your kid locked in a cell, what's the first thing you're going to do about it? Try and save her! It's Avalician nature! The moment a parent sees their kid in danger, they rescue them! Or at least try to!"

"If you knew this was going to happen then...why did you let it? And how did you know we were here?" asked Lela curiously.

"I was testing you two." Natalya explained casually, "I was testing you two to see if you would really be so stupid as to do something so predictable and expected. You have exceeded my expectations. As for how I knew you were here right now, Spade told me that you weren't where you SHOULD have been, which is in your rooms. So logically, the first place I knew to look for you was the dungeon and here you are, defying orders and trying to rescue your pathetic daughter. Now I have an excuse to punish you two for your foolishness."

Something seemed to snap inside Milla as Natalya threatened her parents with punishment. She pushed her way through them and took her turn in defending the parents.

"You will NOT hurt my mommy and daddy you ugly old witch!" screamed Milla defiantly, "You took them away from me and now you're gonna pay for it!"

"What exactly are you going to do about it?" snorted Natalya, "I knocked you out with one hit last night. I could always knock you out again Milla."

"No!" yelped Milla.

Without thinking, she suddenly summoned a shield out of nowhere and threw it directly at Natalya. The green energy shield slammed straight into the woman's stomach and threw her outside the cell. She slammed callously into a wall and grunted from the impact. Milla had actually caught her by surprise, something that surprised Natalya. Nobody ever caught her by surprise and she wasn't going to let Milla live to celebrate her successful attack. Milla, Miguel and Lela ran out of the cell and charged down a corridor, all three of them scampering on all fours. Natalya watched them flee and she ran after them, running at an impossible speed. She moved so fast that she was almost a blur. She caught up to the dogs and somersaulted into the air directly over them as if she was running an obstacle course. She landed directly in front of the hounds and stood her ground, her posture battle-ready and her fists raised. The dogs stopped dead in their tracks and took up battle-ready stances as they prepared to fight with the evil crime boss. Natalya had kept Miguel and Lela prisoner for long enough and she had thrown Milla into a world of solitude for far too long. It was time to end it. Natalya observed her opponents confidently, waiting for them to react. Every sense was alert. Her eagle eyes watched for any signs of attempting to attack. Her ears were tuned for any sound they made. She had switched off the speaker in her helmet so she wouldn't be distracted by whatever she could hear Lilac doing right now.

"You want to escape? You fight me first..." snarled Natalya.

"Gladly." said Miguel angrily, "You've pushed me and my wife around for far too long. It's time we stood up to you and took you down..."

Just as he'd finished speaking, Natalya suddenly rocketed forward and prepared to attack...

* * *

Back in the RoyalPalace, Lilac and Carol dodged another wave of ice that had been fired at them by Neera Li. As much as the two Avalicians didn't want to fight the female panda, they knew they had to for Natalya would be listening in on them and would want to hear them fighting hard against Neera Li and trying to prevent her from arresting them. Both dragon and wildcat were deathly sure that Natalya had heard everything Neera had told them moments ago and was probably livid with rage at the fact her plan had been compromised so she would want them to fight and free the eight Red Scarves they had teamed up with for tonight's raid and murder attempt.

Lilac spiralled through the air like a spinning top and walloped Neera across the face with her trademark tendrils. It was still amazing to the serious woman how Lilac's tendrils could be harmless strands of hair one moment but in a battle, they were lethal weapons. Neera knew that she had to avoid them at all costs. Growling angrily, the panda picked herself up and fired a wave of ice at Lilac. The dragon dodged the attack again and spun towards Neera, her whippy tendrils scything through the air as the distance between them began to close. Neera jumped aside to avoid Lilac's incoming attack and she swung her sceptre at the dragon before she could stop herself. The sceptre hit Lilac squarely in the back of her head and knocked her down onto her stomach. The reptilian Avalician winced in pain and clutched her head, her face contorted as she tried to ease the pain in her skull. Neera pointed her sceptre at Lilac and prepared to freeze her. Once she froze Lilac, the dragon would be subdued and safely escorted to the dungeon with no resistance whatsoever from her.

But as her sceptre began to glow, Carol ambushed Neera from behind by slugging her in the back. Carol hated herself for having to fight Neera but until the speaker on Lilac's tendril was broken, they couldn't tell the truth otherwise Natalya would hear them. Neera was thrown onto the floor but the warrior priestess wasn't down for long. She picked herself up and twirled around on the tips of her toes, sending shard of ice flying across the room. Carol threw herself down onto the floor to dodge the attacks and the moment Neera stopped spinning, the cat pounced on her and unleashed a round of fisticuffs that bombarded the panda all over her body and whisked her clean off her feet. Neera crashed into a wardrobe, the impact causing it to wobble precariously and threaten to fall over. If it did, she would be crushed. Frightened it would kill her, Lilac and Carol quickly ran over to stop the wardrobe from falling on her. Natalya maybe able to hear them, but she couldn't SEE them so she wouldn't be able to reprimand them for saving Neera's life. The dragon and wildcat stopped the wardrobe from falling over on top of Neera by pushing it back before it could fall over. The panda was stunned for a moment. They had just broken into the Magister's bedroom, intending to murder him, but they saved her life? What was going on? Neera shook it off and instead walloped Carol and Lilac with her ice sceptre. Carol glared at her, rubbing her chin better as she did so.

"Hey! A simple thank you would have been nice Little Miss Ungrateful!" growled Carol.

"You're still thieves and attempted murderers." said Neera coldly, "Don't think saving my life will automatically redeem you two."

Lilac cursed to herself in her head. Did Neera really have to open her big fat mouth about that?! Natalya must have heard her and would likely be furious as Lilac and Carol for saving her from being crushed by a wardrobe! But curiously, Lilac received no response from Natalya on the speaker. Maybe she hadn't heard Neera after all. That was fortunate. Lilac put all thoughts of Natalya aside as she charged back into battle. She boosted towards Neera and slammed straight into her stomach, throwing the panda off her feet and straight down at the foot of a nearby window. Lilac considered herself lucky that she hadn't sent Neera crashing straight through it. The last thing she wanted was to send her falling to her death just shortly after saving her from being crushed by a wardrobe. Neera picked herself up and threw more waves of ice at the dragon, hoping to freeze her and put and end to the battle. But Lilac spun around on her tip-toes and whipped the beams away with her tendrils. Carol ran towards Neera, hoping to land a good blow on her again but Neera uppercut the feline in the chin with her sceptre. Carol's head was snapped backwards so sharply she swore she got whiplash. Then Neera kicked Carol in the gut, throwing her off her feet and straight into Lilac. The two girls fell into a heap on the floor together as they collided into each other. Carol picked herself up but as she got back up, Neera ran towards her and punched her in the face. Carol staggered backwards from the punch, not realizing that Lilac hadn't stood back up yet, and she accidentally stepped on Lilac's tendril. She felt something go crunch underneath her boot as she stepped on it. Lilac shrieked in pain and Carol was quick to take her foot off and apologize for the accident.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Lilac! Are you OK?" she asked frantically.

"Aside from the fact you just stepped on my hair, I'm fine." muttered Lilac, rubbing her tendril tenderly, "But what was that crushing sound after you stepped on it?"

Carol began to feel worried. Had she broken the tendril when she'd stepped on it? Carol quickly observed the tendril to see if she'd damaged it in anyway. She sighed with relief upon seeing that the tendril didn't appear to be in any state of damage. But she had damaged something when she'd stepped on it. Squashed flat against Lilac's skin was the speaker that Natalya had fitted her with. It had been completely crushed by Carol's boot when she had stepped on it. Natalya wouldn't be hearing a word from the two Red Scarf traitors now, even if she switched her own speaker back on. Carol punched the air with joy, confusing Lilac for she was unaware of the broken speaker still.

"Yes! I broke the speaker!" cried Carol excitedly, "I stepped on it after Neera punched me!"

"I never thought I'd say this…" said a very flabbergasted Lilac, "But thank you Neera Li!"

"What?" murmured Neera Li, puzzled at what was going on and what the girls were on about, "What are you thanking me for? And what are you on about with a "broken speaker"? What's going on with you two kids?"

Lilac picked herself up and dusted herself off. As she did this, Carol grabbed Lilac's tendril and removed the now useless speaker from it. She showed Neera the crushed speaker, surprising the panda for she hadn't seen it on Lilac at all throughout the fight. It was like it had come out of nowhere but Neera knew this wasn't the case. Lilac had it on the whole time and she just simply hadn't seen it.

"Hmm…I see…so why did you have a speaker in your hair Lilac?" Neera asked curiously.

"The leader of the Red Scarves put it there to keep an eye on me and Carol Neera." explained Lilac, "Now I know you won't believe me but PLEASE listen to what I've got to say. It's very important and you'll forgive me and Carol once you've heard it."

Neera thought for a moment. On the one hand, she didn't believe Lilac and Carol were innocent for a minute. But on the other hand, she had to consider the fact that they had been fighting the Red Scarves and had saved Mayor Zao's life last night. The mayor had said so himself. And now coming to think of it, it seemed a little suspicious for the girls to suddenly be back on the scarves's side and wearing a speaker so the leader could eavesdrop on them. Neera had to know the truth or she'd give herself a headache from trying to comprehend this crazy turn of events. Sighing, she lowered her sceptre.

"Very well. Speak." she said flatly.

"Last night, the Red Scarves attacked Mayor Zao. I'm sure you know that already." explained Lilac, "Well, we fought off the Red Scarves…but then their leader knocked me, Carol and Milla out and kidnapped us. You may notice that me and Carol still look a little banged up." she added, motioning to the bruises that she still had on her face from last night's fight.

"Yes…now you mention it, you two do look like you've been in a fight recently." murmured Neera, noticing the bruises the girls carried, "I hope you can excuse my ignorance in overlooking that…"

"It's fine Elsa the Ice Queen." said Carol casually, "It's not like it was that obvious and the fact we're wearing ninja outfits kinda makes it harder to tell too."

"But we digress." continued Lilac quickly, "The leader of the Red Scarves is a woman in a leather trench coat and a helmet with a singular lens named Natalya. She's the nastiest woman you'll EVER meet in your life. Nobody who gets in her way lives to tell about it and she is very cold, cruel and secretive. She never shows her face, always wearing that helmet everywhere she goes. And she's a mean fighter too…"

"Yeah, she kicked our asses last night!" exclaimed Carol, "My neck still hurts from when she strangled me!" she muttered, rubbing her neck tenderly.

"I think I understand now…" mused Neera as she put two plus two together, "You two and Milla were kidnapped by this "Natalya" and she forced you two to rejoin the Red Scarves and take part in tonight's events! It all makes sense now…but where's Milla? Shouldn't she be with you?"

"She's back at their hideout." answered Lilac, "And Natalya's using her as blackmail. We do what she sees, she doesn't kill Milla. Simple as that. We're very sorry that this has been allowed to happen…we truly are."

The dragon's face was as apologetic as the tone in her voice and the words she had delivered. Neera studied Lilac's facial expressions and body language and realized that Lilac was telling the truth. She had been forced against her will to try and kill the Magister and raid the palace with the scarves the General Gong had captured. She could also see that Lilac was scared. Scared for Milla and hoping dearly that they could rescue her. Neera nodded slowly, her face full of sympathy for the dragon.

"I'm so sorry to hear this." said Neera, "It's horrible that this has been allowed to happen to you and an innocent little child like Milla is being used to force you two against your wills to do what Natalya wants you to do."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Carol indignantly, "And that's what the whole speaker was about! She wanted to make sure we couldn't tell you this and that we'd cooperate! But since you caused me to break it, Natalya won't hear a word of what we've just been talking about. So thank you for that Neera."

"I guess you're welcome…" said Neera uneasily, "Anyway, I thank you greatly for sharing this information with me. I'll inform the Magister at once. Though we need to know where the Red Scarves are so we can plan on saving Milla. And maybe you can tell us why they were trying to kill Mayor Zao last night too."

"Believe me Neera, I'm more than willing to tell you all of that…" said Lilac, her face deathly serious as she was about to answer the panda girl's questions…

* * *

_**Yay! The girls have spilled the beans on Natalya! But what about Milla and her parents? Will they be OK? What will the Magister do once he knows where the Red Scarves are hiding? Is the Christmas Raid going to be foiled? Find out next time...**_


	6. Blackmail

_Chapter 6: Blackmail_

Milla let out a howl of pain as Natalya's booted heel slammed down hard onto the small of her back, effectively winding the little hound and leaving her with an agonizing pain that made it hard for her to stand up straight due to her back straining in protest. Mercilessly, the helmeted woman didn't stop there. She drew her leg back as far as she could draw it and she swung it upwards into Milla's body, throwing her off her feet and into the air. She didn't care in the slightest that she was beating up a child. Milla could have been a newborn puppy for all she cared and she'd still inflict harm upon her if she got on her nerves.

The fight between Natalya and the hound dogs was not going well for the Basset family at all. Milla had just discovered that two members of the Red Scarves were actually her long lost parents and Miguel and Lela had come to break her out of the Red Scarves's dungeon so they could escape the scarves and keep their beloved daughter out of Natalya's reach. But the woman had been expecting them to try and rescue Milla and they had fallen into her trap. Now the Bassets were trying as hard as they could to fight off Natalya and win their freedom. But they were fighting a losing battle. Their helmeted opponent was leagues beyond them with martial arts skills that rivalled even the hardiest of warriors and a speed that seemed almost as great as, if not more so, than Lilac herself. Milla, Miguel and Lela had no chance of winning but they weren't going to give up while they were so close to having their happily ever after at long last. They had been separated for so long, they weren't going to let each other be kept apart for any longer.

After kicking down Milla, Natalya spun on her heels and quickly manoeuvred into position to block a well-aimed punch from Miguel. He and his wife had been learning some fighting moves during their time as Red Scarves so they at least had some power in their attacks. But nowhere near enough to defeat the wicked woman. Natalya twisted Miguel's hand to one side, earning a scream of pain from the dog that made Milla want to sob for him. She hated hearing her parents in pain; it was a very distressing noise for her sensitive ears to pick up and a noise that greatly upset her. Milla jumped up onto her feet and began throwing her fists at Natalya as hard as she could. She thumped her hard on the back but to Natalya, it was like an ant trying to punch an elephant. She barely even felt any of Milla's blows against her well-toned and fit body.

"Leave my daddy alone you big bully!" yelled Milla angrily.

Milla was capable of expressing anger, but she often suppressed it when she could for she didn't enjoy being angry. In this case, she wanted to let out all the anger she could possibly let out onto Natalya. But even her rage wasn't getting her anywhere. Annoyed with the consistent hammering of the little puppy, Natalya swung around and backhanded Milla across the jaw. Milla had moved her head, hoping to avoid it, so she had saved herself from being knocked out like last night. Her jaw had taken the impact for her but the backhand had still hurt her as much as it had last night. It was worse in this case for Milla was conscious and thus, able to feel the pain on her face. Choking back tears, Milla rubbed her aching jaw better just as Natalya prepared to chop her across the neck with the side of her hand. Her fingers were all straightened and her arm was raised, ready to strike at the girl's neck. It would be like slamming a club into the dog's throat. She would make the attack a little softer for she wasn't aiming to kill Milla. She wanted to punish her first and she still needed a hostage to keep Lilac and Carol from mutinying against her. But as Natalya prepared to strike at Milla, Lela ran into her and rammed head-first into her stomach like a charging bull. Her time in the Red Scarves had given her a great deal of speed and thus, she had been able to successfully catch Natalya off-guard. Lela's attack had sent Natalya staggering backwards but surprisingly enough, the woman didn't fall down onto the floor. She remained standing and just straightened up as if nothing had happened. She cricked her knuckles confidently and strode towards the Bassets.

"Did you really think that you had a chance of landing a blow on me? And one that actually HURTS?" she sneered, "You're all fools…I've been training myself for years in many forms of martial arts and I've also trained myself to tolerate near all forms of pain. You cannot hurt me. It's like trying to break a shield with your bare hands…impossible to do and very painful for you."

"Well I have something you don't Natalya." noted Milla grimly, "And that's a magical shield!"

She then summoned a huge, translucent, rectangular shaped energy block out of nowhere and launched it straight at Natalya. The trench-coated woman had not anticipated the move and now the crime boss found herself being hit by the shield and slammed against a wall. But that wasn't all that happened. Milla kept the shield up as Natalya was pressed against the wall, sandwiched between it and the energy shield that was pressing her against it. Natalya tried to move but try as she might, Milla's shield was too strong for her. She grunted with the effort.

"Blasted, wretched child! Release me at once!" snarled Natalya.

"Never!" declared Milla, "You took my parents away from me! Now you're gonna pay for it! Mommy, Daddy! Please get out of here! I'll hold her off!" she cried, looking over at Miguel and Lela.

"We can't leave you Milla!" cried Lela worriedly, "That witch will kill you!"

"No she won't! I'll block all her attacks with my shields!" declared Milla, "Now please, go now!"

"Come on Lela! It's the only chance we have of escaping with our lives!" cried Miguel, putting his hands on his wife's shoulders desperately and staring into her eyes.

Lela wasn't sure if she wanted to leave Milla alone with Natalya for more than a minute. She was certain the vile crime mistress would kill her precious daughter if she left her. But Milla was the only one who could keep Natalya at bay for long enough for her and Miguel to escape. Lela sighed and she decided that it would be a wise idea to run. But before she and Miguel could go anywhere, Natalya suddenly began to push the shield away from her! Milla's strength was fading and she couldn't hold the shield for much longer. This lucky turnout was giving Natalya the strength she needed to free herself from the wall and the shield. Straining with effort, her muscles screaming as they worked, Natalya began to push the shield at arm's length away from herself. Milla tried hard to keep Natalya pinned to the wall but try as she might, she was fighting a losing battle. Natalya then suddenly bent her arms back, allowing the shield to come close to her again, and then she thrust her arms forward. This threw the shield back long enough for her to jump out of the way. Milla could only stare in disbelief at Natalya as she straightened herself up and cricked her neck. How had she managed to do that? Even with her strength failing, she shouldn't have been able to push her shield out of the way! Natalya truly was a strong woman.

"An admirable effort little Milla…but your best attempts have failed you." sneered Natalya, "Now…time to put you back to sleep…"

The crime mistress then bent down into a stance that suggested she was ready to sprint towards Milla. The dog was already on the alert but even she couldn't possibly prepare herself for Natalya's next attack in time. The cold-hearted villainess sprinted towards Milla at a speed that seemed too good to be true and charged towards her like she had been shot from a giant gun. Milla summoned a shield to her hands but she was much too late. Natalya threw a punch at the shield, throwing Milla off her feet and onto the floor. Then just as quickly as she had attacked, Natalya was directly above Milla and ready to punch her directly in the face. Miguel and Lela tried to save their daughter before Natalya could knock her out again. Miguel spun on the heel of his right foot and swung his left foot towards his evil abductor's solar plexus. Natalya saw it coming and reacted abnormally fast. She caught his foot with her hand and tripped Miguel up, bringing him down onto the floor. His head thumped sickeningly hard onto the solid floor beneath him. He was instantly knocked out by the impact. Lela saw what happened to her husband and began to go wild with rage. She clawed like a vicious cat at Natalya's helmeted face, hoping to at least scratch her helmet just to annoy her. But Natalya took her attacks and then jabbed her sharply in the stomach with two clawed fingers. Lela's face screwed up in agony, feeling like she had just been stabbed by two daggers at once in the gut. She doubled over and clutched her stomach in pain. This gave Natalya the perfect opportunity to slam her fist down on the back of her head and knock her out along with her husband. Even with the training they had received under Natalya's rule as members of the Red Scarves, Miguel and Lela never stood a chance. Milla stared at her unconscious parents, angry to see how ruthlessly Natalya had just dispatched them. She gritted her teeth and glared at her parent's kidnapper.

"How dare you hurt my mommy and daddy!" she cried, "I'm gonna make you pay for all you've done Natalya!"

"Oh please, you're just a pathetic little child." snorted Natalya, "Even if you have magic powers, you cannot defeat me. You never had a chance little girl..."

Before Milla knew what happened next, Natalya rushed forward and clouted her hard across the face, throwing her down onto the floor. Milla's head was spinning from the impact. She clutched her temples and willed for the pain to go away. It was like the room was waving up and down like the sea at the beach only she was lying down on her side, unmoving and massaging her head better. Natalya stood over Milla, prepared to strike at her and knock her out again. Milla saw this and she covered her face in fright.

"No! Please! Don't kill me!" whimpered Milla.

"I'm not going to kill you. I need you to keep Lilac and Carol from betraying me..." snorted Natalya as if Milla had just said something stupid.

Then Natalya swung her fist down and slammed it hard on Milla's head. The puppy didn't even feel the blow as her eyes closed and she fell unconscious. With the would-be-escapees now finally unconscious, Natalya dusted her hands off and observed the unconscious dogs with glee. How foolish they had been to try and fight her! Well they would hopefully learn their lesson now.

"When you three wake up, you'll be subjected to a punishment beyond anything you've ever experienced before." she purred wickedly to herself, "But for now, I have a job to do..."

Turning on her heels, Natalya strolled out of the cell and closed the door shut behind her. She locked the door and slipped the key back into her pocket. Natalya had made sure to dispose of the hairpin that Lela had used to pick the lock to the door before entering the cell to confront the Basset family. They would never escape now. Chuckling happily to herself, Natalya switched on the communicator device built into her helmet. She had switched it off so she could concentrate on the fight and not on what Lilac and Carol were doing over in Shang Tu. It was a lesson she had learned in her martial arts lessons: Never try to fight if there's a voice in your ears. Concentration is compulsory in a fight. The villainess could hardly wait to hear how things were going on in Shang Tu now.

"Sash Lilac? Carol Tea? This is Natalya. How does the mission?" she asked in unusually bright, cheery tone of voice.

Her tone quickly changed for the worst. In her ears, she heard nothing but complete static. She received no response whatsoever. She tried again.

"Lilac, Carol, answer me right now!" she barked furiously, "Have you killed The Magister yet?!"

There was still no reply. Only static buzzing that hissed in Natalya's ears. She switched the communicator off, allowing the silence to return to her ears for a moment. Then she punched the wall in fury, leaving a heavy dent in the solid metal.

"DAMN THOSE KIDS!" she bellowed at the top of her voice, "DAMN THOSE INCOMPETENT FOOLS! They must have fallen into a trap and Lilac's speaker must have been confiscated! Those stupid, stupid kids! I warned them to be vigilant! How could they be so careless?!"

Natalya then clasped her hands and breathed in deeply for a moment. She needed to relax, she'd be able to think better and work out how to deal with his unfortunate turnout. She inhaled through her nose and then exhaled out of her mouth. She felt more relaxed now. She unclenched her fists and put a finger to the mouth piece of her helmet in thought.

"OK...if the two have been captured, they may well be forced to tell the Magister everything. They'll be locked up in that prison of his for sure." she murmured thoughtfully, "But they won't talk. They'll know the consequences if they have told them what I've forbidden them from telling. But how will I retrieve those two? Maybe..."

Natalya smiled to herself. If she wasn't helmeted, anybody could see that she had a smile so sly that a fox would have fallen in love with it.

"I think a little...blackmail is in hand..." purred Natalya deviously, "And I have the perfect bait to encourage those morons to give me back my golden girls..."

Grinning wickedly to herself, Natalya turned around and strode back towards the cell, already fishing the key out of her coat pocket...

* * *

"...and that's why me and Carol were here to kill you pretty much." finished Lilac.

"Yeah. We're very sorry we attempted such a thing Magister but we had no choice." said Carol guiltily, "I...I hope you believe us."

The Magister put a finger to his lips thoughtfully for a moment. Lilac and Carol had just finished a long explanation on what was going on with them and why they were here. After convincing Neera Li the Panda Girl that they were innocent, she took them straight to The Magister so he could hear their story. Lilac had even presented the broken speaker that Natalya had been using to spy on her and make sure she was playing by her rules during the mission as evidence to back up their story. The Magister, who had been hiding in his own dungeon the whole time with Mayor Zao, had listened to the story and he ran it over in his head to see if he understood what he had heard.

"So you came here, intending to assassinate me, because the Red Scarves forced you two to do it?" he asked softly, "And their leader...Natalya, put that speaker on your hair so she could make sure you wouldn't be telling us this?"

"Absolutely." said Lilac matter-of-factly, "Please Magister, don't think I'm deceiving you again. I'm above that now, especially after the consequences of deceiving you the first time..." she added, thinking back to how her deception had ended up getting her captured and brutally tortured by Brevon all those months ago.

"I did not for a minute think you were deceiving me." explained The Magister kindly, "Remember, my distrusting of you was costly on my part for you ended up nearly dead...and I found out that your friend's story was right the whole time, thus making the pain Brevon subjected you to needless."

"We believe you, all of us." said Neera kindly, "Especially since the evidence is enough to prove you're telling the truth."

Lilac and Carol both grinned from ear-to-ear with delight. The Magister believed them! Favour was certainly giving them much fortune now. There was light at the end of the tunnel for the two after all.

"Oh thank you Magister!" cried Lilac happily.

"So glad you believe us!" squealed Carol excitedly.

"Alright, enough fanfare." said the Magister seriously, "So tell us, what IS the Red Scarves's big plan? Why did they want Zao AND me dead?"

"Yeah, why would they want us dead?! Especially ME?!" piped Zao angrily.

"It's all Natalya's bright idea to rule Avalice's three kingdoms." muttered Carol, "You see, the crazy witch wants to kill all the leaders, namely you two and King Dail, and she's gonna replace them with herself and two others. Natalya wants to take Dail's place in particular. That's why she wants you and the Magister dead Mayor Zao."

"It's true, she told us herself." added Lilac, "That's pretty much why me and Carol were sent to kill you Magister."

The Magister's face gave nothing away though Lilac assumed he was shocked to hear this news. Neera Li certainly seemed horrified to hear what Natalya's plan was. Mayor Zao was less quiet about the news though. He hopped up and down in an exaggerated manner that somehow looked ludicrously humorous due to his small stature and over-sized hat bouncing up and down on his head as he jumped up and down.

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! HOW COULD THOSE FIENDS ATTEMPT SOMETHING SO VILE?!" exclaimed Mayor Zao angrily, "Oooooh, I'm so angry that I just wanna punch their leader!"

**5+ ANGRY**

"Nice to know you haven't lost your running gag..." snickered Carol casually.

Nobody laughed at Carol's remark. They were too stunned at the news to even register the fact Carol had spoken. Smiling awkwardly, Carol decided not to say anything else. The Magister then broke the silence, his face unreadable.

"Well...this is ambitious, even for them..." murmured The Magister, "The Red Scarves have never attempted anything THIS large before."

"I know...nothing me and Carol ever did for them was on that wide a scale." the Avalician dragon muttered bitterly, "And to think Natalya forced me and Carol to take part in it."

"But thanks to you two sending the great me to warn the Magister, he was already prepared for their arrival!" exclaimed Zao enthusiastically, "He's captured eight of their ninjas already and King Dail's likely ready to anticipate them too since he was warned like the Magister was! I'm a hero!" the red panda shrieked at the top of his voice.

**5+ HERO**

"Actually, me and Carol are." noted Lilac awkwardly, "If WE didn't send you to warn the Magister then he'd be dead right now and Natalya would have won."

"Talk about "saving yer own skin" eh Lilac?" Carol beamed excitedly.

"Yeah...how often does that happen in the hero business?" the dragon chuckled casually, "But anyway, we're digressing, me and Carol can stop the scarves once and for all. We know where they're hiding. They're hiding in the Drainage Tunnels underneath Shang Tu itself. So quit literally, Natalya and her buddies are hiding right under your feet."

The Magister finally showed an emotion other than stoic interest. His eyes widened in surprise, completely taken aback by the information Lilac had just given him. Neera Li looked equally as shocked to hear this too.

"They're...hiding...right underneath...us?!" squeaked Neera incredulously.

"And I suppose you have a reason for not telling us this before...?" asked the Magister coldly. His eyes narrowed down to angry slits of disgust. How could these two kids keep such important information from him? Lilac could see that the Magister was not pleased with her and Carol so she chose her words carefully.

"We're sorry...but that was when we didn't think anybody would believe us." the purple-skinned dragon replied guiltily, "Especially you Magister. And being as we turned traitor, we thought that they would relocate their hideout to make sure that if we DID tell anybody, it'd look like we were lying. I guess Natalya isn't as smart as she pretends to be..."

"Well anyway, now you know so I bet you're gonna send General Gong and some soldiers down to the tunnels to flush them out." suggested Carol helpfully, "We've quite literally ratted them out to you." she added, winking at the Magister and Neera.

"That is indeed true." the Magister mused, "This is a valuable opportunity for us to arrest them all. Tomorrow, General Gong and his men will storm the tunnels and arrest the Red Scarves. We can also save Milla if she's still in their custody."

"I recommend doing it tomorrow night." suggested Lilac, "Natalya will least expect it and if she goes out to murder King Dail tomorrow night, General Gong and his men won't have to deal with her and will have a MUCH easier time arresting them."

"But who will deal with Natalya?" asked Neera curiously.

"Me, Carol and you can." suggested Lilac, "Me and Carol have experienced her in a fight, we know most of her tricks and moves. We can fight her and keep her distracted and then you freeze her Neera. Once frozen, she's as good as caught."

"Hmm...I like that idea..." mused Neera delightedly, "It's risky for you two, but then again, you're kinda used to that by now no doubt. Tomorrow, we put the plan into motion."

"Oh yeah! Twas' The Fight Before Christmas baby!" cried Carol excitedly, punching the air with enthusiasm.

But then all joy and excitement quickly diminished. The sound of clomping feet ran downstairs and into the underground dungeon to meet the occupants. It was General Gong. He looked flustered as if a terrible blizzard had nearly whisked him away outside. The dragon girl and wildcat read the army panda's face and knew instantly that something wasn't good.

"Your excellency!" boomed General Gong in his grizzly voice, "I've got terrible news for you! A woman in a trenchcoat and helmet has come to us with three captive hounds, one of them the friend of Lilac and Carol! She demands that we hand over Lilac and Carol now or she'll kill them!"

Lilac and Carol's blood ran cold. Their hearts skipped a beat and they felt an overwhelming sense of despair as their beautiful plan began to crumble beneath them. Natalya was demanding for them and using Milla as a hostage to force the Magister to give them back to her! The other two hounds, the girls assumed, might be Milla's parents since there was no reason for Natalya to hold Milla and two of her own hostage for Lilac and Carol to be turned over to her. So they had all the more reason to allow themselves to be turned over. Milla wanted to see her parents again and now she and her parents were being used as hostages. There was no way Lilac was going to allow Natalya to kill them all, especially since she had vowed to grant Milla's Christmas Wish, the very thing that had thrown her and Carol into this entire conspiracy in the first place. How did intending to do something so noble and kind for a friend cause all of this to happen to them? Lilac would never know. She supposed fate had a funny way of creating a chain of events for some. All she knew is that she would be happy when this was finally over. Carol gripped Lilac's arms in fright.

"Ohmigosh, Natalya's here?!" shrieked Carol, "She must have realized the speaker's broken and concluded that we got captured!"

"And because of that...she's here to get us back." Lilac murmured quietly, "She must be worried that we'll talk while she can't hear us...which we've just done now."

"But she doesn't know that! She'll question us on it sure but still, we can just lie to her!" suggested Carol, "She won't know we've said anything to these guys!" she added, motioning over to the Magister, Neera Li, General Gong and Mayor Zao who looked equally as shocked as she and Lilac were.

"Yes Carol but should we allow ourselves to be taken back by Natalya?" the dragon asked nervously, "I mean, Milla and the other two hounds, maybe her parents, will die if we don't but at the same time, Natalya might find out what we've done and kill them anyway. And maybe us too..."

"Seems you two are in a bit of a risky situation..." Gong murmured worriedly, "Should you defy this Natalya woman or cede to her demands?"

"I know…and I'm not sure what will be the right choice…" Lilac murmured worriedly.

"What if I come up and freeze her? suggested Neera, "We can save the hounds that way and you won't have to give yourself up."

"No Neera, Natalya will dodge your attacks before you can even THINK about using them." Lilac noted, "She is ridiculously fast, maybe AS fast as me, if not more! If you fire an ice beam at her, she'll be out of the way before you can get close. And there's no chance of you catching her by surprise, she'll be on the alert and keeping an eye on all of us to make sure nothing dodgy happens. It won't work."

Neera's face fell with disappointment. It seemed that Natalya was more than she could possibly have imagined about her. The Red Scarves certainly seemed to have a strong, fast and powerful leader that much was certain.

"Then what shall we do?!" cried Mayor Zao frantically, "You can't give yourselves up to that wicked woman!"

"And at the same time, we can't let Milla and the other two hounds die." the dragon replied despairingly, "I'm afraid…we have no choice, again."

"As unwilling as I am to go back to that creepy witch, I think my buddy's right." sighed Carol grimly, "We HAVE to give ourselves up. Natalya will kill every last one of ya just to get to us, if she has to."

"Do what you must." said the Magister dryly, "But just remember that we still have the information you passed on to us. And regardless of whether you go back with Natalya or not, we will still put the plan into motion. When Gong and his men storm the tunnels, they'll come for you two as well as Milla."

"I just hope Natalya keeps us alive…" mumbled Lilac worriedly.

"I doubt Natalya will kill us just for getting "caught" Lilac." Carol reassured her best friend, "She'll punish us maybe, but she won't kill us. She will if she finds out we snitched on her though…but don't worry, she won't think such a thing at all."

Lilac nodded slowly. Somehow, she felt that Natalya would somehow find out what she and Carol had done while she couldn't eavesdrop on them. But Lilac couldn't worry about that. If she looked worried, Natalya would start asking questions and those questions would end with her forcibly spilling the beans. And the truth was the last thing the dragon wanted the evil crime mistress to hear. Sighing in defeat, Lilac and Carol allowed the Magister, General Gong and Neera Li to take them up outside the Royal Palace to see Natalya. The Avalicians walked out of the dungeon and through the royal hall. Lilac and Carol took a moment to themselves to admire the grandiose palace before they had to go back in a boring cell in the Red Scarves's hideout. They would only be in the hideout one last time, they reassured themselves. The hideout would be stormed and the Red Scarves would be arrested and then Lilac, Carol and Milla would never spend another day in that cell again. The Avalicians left the RoyalPalace and trudged through the thick blanket of snow that awaited them outside. Standing a few feet away and facing directly at the Royal Palace was Natalya herself. Her black leather trench coat blew out behind her in the biting winds. Despite how could it was, Natalya didn't seem bothered by it. The black bodysuit was supposedly really good at keeping her warm. Lilac and Carol saw that Natalya had a bound and gagged Milla on her knees in the snow in front of Natalya. Her eyes were streaming with tears and she was trying desperately to talk to them but the red cloth around her mouth prevented that from happening. The dragon and wildcat saw the other two hounds that Natalya was holding hostage too. There was a male hound and a female hound on either side of Natalya. As Lilac and Carol studied their features, they realized that they matched the descriptions that Milla had given of her parents. So their fears were confirmed, Natalya was holding the entire Basset family hostage. Some good had come out of this at least, Milla had finally found her parents. It surprised Lilac that they were Red Scarves the whole time. Talk about finding something in the place you least expect! The Magister, Zao, Gong and Neera stared at Natalya. They had not expected the leader of the Red Scarves to look like this, a woman in a long coat with a helmet concealing her face. They knew that they were face-to-face with a strange and mysterious woman and that Natalya was not somebody to be taken lightly. Simultaneously as they were thinking that about her, Natalya swept her eyes over the opposition directly ahead. She knew all of them and she knew how to fight them if she had to do so. Her eyes fixed on Mayor Zao and she sniffed furiously.

"So that's how the Magister was able to set up a trap for my squadron…" she growled, "You warned him Mayor Zao."

"Yes, so what if I did?" sniffed Zao arrogantly, "Because of the great and glorious me, Shang Tu saw you coming a mile away and the same will go to Shuigang! Your plan is a flummox Natalya!"

Lilac sighed in annoyance. Why couldn't Zao keep his mouth shut?! Now Natalya would be getting suspicious about how Zao knew her name! Just as she suspected, Natalya seemed to stiffen as if taken aback by what Zao had just said.

"How…how do you know my name?" she asked coldly, "I suppose your prisoners told you that…" she growled, glaring at Lilac and Carol from behind her helmet.

"Uh…yes they did." said Zao, feeling a little angry with himself for letting slip that piece of information.

"You needn't worry though, Lilac and Carol haven't told us anything more." The Magister lied, taking care to make sure his voice gave nothing away, "We interrogated them but aside from your name, they didn't give anything else away."

"It's true!" cried Lilac, "We haven't told them anything else Mistress! Honest!"

"Cross our hearts and hope to die!" added Carol.

"Good." snarled Natalya, falling for the rather convincing lies of the Avalicians before her, "Now then Magister, hand over my two golden girls or the snow will be stained with the blood of these hapless hounds."

She then proceeded to draw out a dagger from her sleeve and hold the sharp, silver blade under Milla's throat. Milla screamed a muffled scream of terror and tried hard to keep the dagger from touching her throat. Lilac felt her heart ache for Milla. It pained her to see Natalya threatening an innocent child's life like this. How she wanted the kind-hearted hound to be free again! The Magister nodded and ushered Lilac and Carol forwards.

"Go ahead you two." he said, "I will not allow three innocent lives to be taken so heartlessly on my grounds."

"Neither will we…" murmured Lilac, playing along with the Magister's surprisingly good acting, "As reluctant as we are to come back."

"Better than Milla being dead." sighed Carol.

With great reluctance, Lilac and Carol heaved their heavy bones over to Natalya's side. Satisfied that the girls were complying to her orders, Natalya put the dagger back up her sleeve. She then patted the two girls on the head as if pleased to have them back. Lilac and Carol knew that this gesture of tenderness couldn't be more of an act if Natalya tried.

"Well done girls, you made the right choice." purred Natalya, "Now then Magister, we will be going. Do not think I won't come back for you though. You'll be dead eventually, same for Mayor Zao." she hissed venomously, "And next time, you WON'T see me coming…"

"We will be waiting for you." said the Magister bluntly, "Just get out of my sight you abhorrent criminal."

"Gladly." snorted Natalya, "Tonight's nothing but a big embarrassment for the Red Scarves. Savour your victory. It. WON'T. last…"

With that said, Natalya turned on her heels and stormed away with her prisoners and Lilac and Carol following her closely behind. The moment they had left, the Magister, Gong, Neera and Zao turned around and walked back into the RoyalPalace. As they re-entered the building, Neera looked at the Magister with concern on her face.

"Do you think Natalya actually bought all that?" she asked nervously.

"She didn't seem to have disbelieved us." the Magister murmured, "But then again, with that helmet on, it was impossible to read her face. Her posture didn't seem to indicate any disbelieving in our lies though."

"Either way, she still doesn't know that we plan to storm their hideout tomorrow." noted General Gong, "She'll be caught by surprise and if she goes over to Shuigang to kill Dail, Neera will be waiting for her. Thanks to our friends, the Red Scarves are as good as disbanded!"

"Indeed General…" The Magister agreed.

But something told him that because Natalya knew that King Dail would be on the alert for the Red Scarves tomorrow, it wouldn't be as easy as that. The hideout raid would go perfectly but King Dail's life was still far from safe. But the plan was sure to work, especially since Natalya wouldn't see it coming…

* * *

Back in the Red Scarves's hideout, Lilac, Carol and Milla had all been thrown back into the small, boring cell that they had spent the whole of last night and today in. Milla had been untied and the gag taken off as she was thrown into the cell. It amazed Lilac and Carol as to how one moment they were out of the cell and up in Shang Tu and now the next minute, they were back into it. It didn't feel that long since they had been out of the cell. As the girls picked themselves up, Natalya glared at Lilac and Carol from behind her visor and folded her arms. They didn't need to see the face behind the helmet to know what mood Natalya was in right now.

"Right Sash Lilac, care to tell me what happened and how you got caught?" snarled Natalya angrily, "I explicitly told you two to be cautious after you warned me that the raid appeared to be going too easily!"

"We're very sorry Mistress Natalya." lied Lilac, looking as apologetic as possible, "I walked into the Magister's room and stabbed down with the tanto you gave me but it turned out he wasn't in the bed and Neera Li was hiding in the wardrobe and she leapt out and attacked me and Carol!"

There was some truth in that sentence so Lilac didn't need to put as much effort into her acting as she did with her lies. It seemed to fool Natalya for she didn't respond to her statement with any questions of suspicion.

"She broke Lilac's speaker and then froze us and locked us up in the Magister's dungeon!" exclaimed Carol, "We had no idea what to expect when we came into the Magister's room! He played us for saps and we fell for his trap! We're very sorry!"

"Please, don't punish us for this…" said Lilac worriedly, "We've learnt our lesson now and we promise never to fall for any traps again."

"I feel like I SHOULD punish you incompetent fools for embarrassing the name of the Red Scarves and botching up such a simple mission…but at the same time, you two HAD sent Mayor Zao running to warn the others so the fault is mine for not anticipating this. Had I thought about you two sending Zao to warn the Magister and King Dail, I would have been more careful in planning the mission." murmured Natalya, "For once, the fault is mine in this case and thus, you will not be punished for MY wrong-doings. I apologize for causing you two to get captured."

Lilac and Carol thought they were going to faint. Natalya, the cruellest woman in the world, was actually APOLOGIZING to them for what had happened?! They didn't think she was capable of accepting her wrong-doings and apologizing for them. They assumed she always blamed everything on her minions. That had been the case when they had worked for her before.

"W-wow Natalya…I didn't expect that…" murmured Lilac.

"I AM capable of accepting when I'm wrong you know my child, I'm not THAT arrogant." sniffed Natalya, "Besides, as the famous saying from Ancient Avalician times says: "He who ignores his mistakes neglects to learn from them". And I am NOT a woman who likes to repeat her mistakes."

"Oh wow, she has ONE redeeming trait. That is shocking." snorted Carol sarcastically.

The crime mistress ignored Carol's insult and focused on Lilac. She walked up to the dragon and then placed her hands on the girl's face, making Lilac feel uncomfortable. Natalya's hands were like ice on her cheeks.

"My special little dragon, I know you'll do me proud next time the Red Scarves have a mission." she purred sweetly, "But for now, you and your friends will rest in here. After the Christmas Raid is over Lilac, you will be the first scarf I will recruit for the scarves's next mission. I hope that sounds good to you my dear."

"It sounds wonderful." Lilac fibbed, making sure she didn't sound enthusiastic for Natalya would get suspicious of her. She had to show she was still defiant, "But why continue with the Christmas Raid? I mean Zao and the Magister are still alive and Dail already knows what you're planning so tomorrow on Christmas Eve, he'll be waiting for you and you'll fall into whatever trap he has set up for you!"

"Nonsense child, King Dail knows that the Red Scarves attacked Mayor Zao and thus, will expect to be attacked himself. Well here's the thing. I know exactly where he'll place all his guards. I have studied Shuigang so frequently that I know the place up, down, left and right. I know all the positions of his guards, I know where he'll expect the Red Scarves to strike. Because of this, me and Spade will tackle the raid on Shuigang tomorrow. Spade will dispatch of the guards and because on Christmas Eve, King Dail stands on stage in front of thousands of drooling morons who worship him while giving a sappy speech about Christmas, he won't notice a thing. And once the guards are down, Spade will kill King Dail with a single poison dart to the throat. And because I will be with him, the mission won't possibly fail. And once Dail is dead, I will crown myself Queen of Shuigang and demand that Zao and the Magister are brought to me or the entire city will face treason. And when they're brought to me…they'll get the deaths they should have received already. So much to your displeasure girls, sending Zao to warn the others has been a forlorn cause. You only delayed their deaths."

_So you think…_ Lilac snorted in her brain, thinking about the Magister's plan to bring down the scarves.

"Wow Natalya, I hate to say it…but you are a clever clogs aren't you?" gasped Carol, "But all the same, you can't do this! You can't make Spade kill his own brother!"

"Yeah!" agreed Milla, wanting to say something against Natalya just so she could get the satisfaction of yelling at her, "You can't make family members kill another! And you can't do something so evil either!"

"I kidnapped your parents and forced them to work for me didn't I?" snorted Natalya, glaring at Milla sternly, "And I can make Spade kill Dail. He knows the consequences of what will happen if he defies me."

"You're insane, you know that?!" cried Lilac, "You're never gonna get away with it!"

"I can, and I WILL." Natalya retorted, "Now be quiet before I decide to punish you after all. And I really don't want to have to punish somebody as special as you Lilac so please do as you're told for both our sakes."

The dragon nodded and decided not to say anything else. With nothing more to say, Natalya straightened up and turned her back on her prisoners.

"Enjoy your stay girls. I'm not letting you out until Christmas Day." said Natalya softly.

"What about my parents? Please can they share this cell with us?" asked Milla sweetly, "I promise I'll behave if you let them."

"You tried to escape Milla. You deserve to be punished." snarled Natalya, "And your punishment is that your parents are isolated from you forever. They're in a cell of their own and they'll never see you again. I'm only letting them out when I want them to join me on a mission, nothing more."

Milla stared at Natalya in horror. How could this vile woman do this to her?! She was just doing this to spite her and nothing else! Milla wasn't going to let Natalya get away with this so she leapt onto her feet and summoned a shield to her hands. But then suddenly, the Red Scarf leader spun around and threw a dagger at Milla. The dagger skimmed past the dog's shoulder, leaving a thin red cut, and the puppy screamed in pain, the shield disappearing as she clasped a hand over her arm. Natalya had expected her to try and attack so she had reacted at just the perfect moment to stop Milla. The dog burst into tears and rubbed her arm furiously, trying to ease the stinging pain. Lilac and Carol ran over to Milla and hugged her for comfort. They were disgusted that Natalya had dared to bodily harm an innocent kid like Milla in this way but they weren't going to call Natalya out on it. They just focused squarely on Milla. With the dog weeping like a willow, Natalya retrieved the dagger, avoiding looking at Milla as she did so. Then the Lead Scarf turned around and left the cell again, locking the door shut behind her. The moment they left, Lilac and Carol began speaking to Milla.

"It's OK Milla, it's just a cut. It's nothing serious." said Lilac gently.

"But it hurts!" wailed Milla, "That nasty woman really hurt me! She's such a meanie!"

"Tell us something we don't know." said Carol grimly, "So, what was that business about trying to escape Milla?"

Milla wiped her eyes dry and answered the cat's question.

"Mommy and daddy turned out to be members of the Red Scarves and they wanted to break me out." explained Milla, "But Natalya expected that to happen so she came down to the cell and then beat us all up. And now she's taking my mommy and daddy away from me! I want them back!" she wailed, new tears streaming down her face.

"We'll get them back Milla, we promise." Lilac reassured the sobbing hound, "You see, Natalya's been played for a sap. We told the Magister what she was planning to do and that you're being kept prisoner here so he's going to send General Gong and his men to raid the tunnels and arrest the Red Scarves. They'll get us out of the cell tomorrow. As for Shuigang, Neera Li will be sent there to catch Natalya. With her ice powers, the wicked crime boss has NO chance. She'll be frozen before she realizes what's happening."

"That's wonderful!" squealed Milla excitedly, "The Red Scarves are as good as defeated now and we're gonna be free and then me and my parents will be back together and we can live happily ever after!"

"And we'll have a REAL Christmas too." said Carol brightly, "No more Natalya and her Red Scarf people. And especially no more Natalya being creepy towards you Lilac."

"Darn straight…" the Avalician reptile murmured agreeably, "I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Neither can I Little Miss Heropants…neither can I." the Avalician feline agreed, winking at her best friend.

Lilac smiled. Tomorrow was going to be the beginning of the end for the Red Scarves and Natalya had no idea what was coming to her…

* * *

**_Well things are about to take a turn for the better! Or are they? Find out next time in Chapter 7...and the ending will leave you speechless._**


	7. The Raid in Shuigang

_Chapter 7: The Raid in Shuigang_

**December 24th, Christmas Eve, just a few hours to go…**

The next night had finally arrived. It felt like forever for the Red Scarves for they had the rest of last night and the whole day to wait before executing the final step of their Christmas Raid but Christmas Eve had arrived at last and the day was dusking, the wintry sky turning dark and black as day turned into night. It was time for the last step in their raid to commence. The raid had been executed with varying success since the day it had been first executed. They had robbed Mayor Zao's palace but failed to kill the Mayor himself and last night, the raid had gone disastrously wrong. Nothing had been robbed and Lilac and Carol ended up telling the Magister what Natalya had forbidden them from telling anybody after Neera Li caused Carol to accidentally step on and break Lilac's speaker that she had been fitted with so Natalya could keep a close eye on her. The leader of the Red Scarves was unaware of this though and as she prepared to leave the hideout and begin the raid on Shuigang, she had no idea what was in store for her tonight. The only thought on her mind at this moment in time was sneaking into Shuigang and watching her second-in-command kill his own brother, King Dail. Spade was still unsure about killing his own brother but he was still going to go along with the plan for he'd rather live to fight another day then suffer Natalya's wrath. On this cold Christmas Eve night, everything was silent and still with not a single soul awake to see what was about to happen. The lid to the drainage tunnels opened up and out of the tunnels climbed out Natalya the Lead Scarf herself and Spade the Panda. Spade was wearing his winter clothes again to keep the cold from biting at him as he prepared to do tonight's terrible deed. Natalya seemed perfectly OK in just her leather bodysuit and trench coat. All that leather was bound to be keeping her toasty warm in the chilled, winter air. The helmet was definitely going to keep her head nice and warm too. Spade wondered how warm Natalya's head must feel under the helmet. She must be used to it given how she's able to wear it no matter what temperature it was inside and out. He still wondered if the helmet was even able to come off or if Natalya wore it to keep herself alive. He supposed that was a mystery he'd never solve. He watched as his leader kept a cautious eye out, making sure that there was nobody in sight to see what they were doing. The coast was completely clear. Satisfied, Natalya turned to face Spade.

"Looks like we've picked a good time to leave my boy." she whispered.

"Indeed my leader." murmured Spade, "So tonight, we're going to position ourselves on the building closest to my brother's palace and then I'm going to shoot a toxic dart into his neck. Right?"

"Yes." replied Natalya, "If you don't use your trademark playing cards, people will never suspect it was you who killed King Dail."

"Indeed." agreed Spade, "My brother hasn't got a chance tonight. He's as good as dead."

"I know he is." the crime boss purred, "Now remember, if you hesitate for any reason whatsoever, you are the one who's dying tonight. You are to kill Dail without hesitation and you will do it swiftly and mercilessly. Do I make myself clear Spade?"

"Clear as crystal." muttered Spade, "I hope you won't punish me for saying that I'm not gonna enjoy this."

"I don't expect you to enjoy it Spade, I expect you to just do it already." snapped Natalya, "Now come my boy. The night is young. Your brother will begin his Christmas Eve speech soon."

"You sure have been observing Shuigang for a while haven't you?" the card-dealing panda snickered, "You really must be desperate to have that kingdom as your own."

"Shuigang is the most powerful kingdom of them all. I deserve the best." retorted Natalya bluntly.

With nothing else to say, the two criminals fled into the night and ran onwards to Shuigang to put an end to Dail's reign and begin Natalya's reign as Queen of Avalice. As they left though, they couldn't possibly have anticipated what was going to happen next. The moment Natalya and Spade were gone, something peeked out from behind a nearby building and stared at the entrance to the Red Scarves's hideout. It was General Gong. The military panda had been watching Natalya and Spade silently the whole time they had been talking to one another and hadn't dared make a move until they were gone. The Magister's plan was now safe to commence. Neera Li was already in Shuigang waiting for Natalya and Spade to arrive so she could capture them both on the spot. She had left Shang Tu just before nightfall so she'd be there long before Natalya and Spade would be there. Now it was the general's turn to play his part. Gong had several of his men, all pandas wearing thick armour and carrying whatever weapons they deemed necessary to bring for the raid, on standby and waiting to mobilize. Gong gave his men the signal, which was his shield glistening in the moonlight.

"Men, it's time to make our move!" he announced, making sure his men could hear him but also making sure his voice wasn't too loud so that he'd accidentally attract attention.

The general's men nodded and they emerged from their hiding places. The whole squadron had been strategically placed all around the area of the scarves' hideout and they had been so well hidden that Natalya hadn't suspected a thing about them. It was like they had been invisible the whole time. The invasion force surrounded the hideout entrance and General Gong carefully reached down to open it. The drainage lid opened up and Gong descended down into the tunnel before everybody else.

"Remember men, follow my lead." he whispered to them as he climbed down into the drainage tunnel, "We can't afford to mess this up. We have lives at stake down there."

The soldiers understood Gong's orders. They had been told that the famed Lilac the Dragon Girl and her friends were prisoners down in the tunnels and they had to rescue them as well as arrest all the Red Scarves. The general had planned out the invasion and his men had the perfect tools needed to capture all of the ninjas at once without risking any of their lives. As General Gong reached the end of the ladder, he took a cautious look around to make sure that he was alone and that he hadn't run into any guards. There was nobody in sight. Why would there need to be any guards on patrol? The Red Scarves were well hidden. Only Lilac and Carol had known where they were so there was no need to be weary of any intruders. Pleased with this, Gong moved forward, his shield already raised in front of him and waiting to defend himself. His soldiers descended down into the tunnels one by one and followed him closely behind. The tunnels were dimly lit, something that the general was weary of since the dark was always a powerful ally to the enemy. Slowly but steadily, General Gong and his men trekked through the tunnels with their every sense alert for any signs of ninjas. Then suddenly, Gong spotted something ahead of himself. There was a group of ninjas just ahead of him, roaming around and keeping an eye on the corridors to make sure everything was normal. There were four of them, all dressed in black and wearing the trademark red scarves that gave the group their names. They spotted Gong and his men and quickly drew out their weapons.

"Intruders!" barked one of the ninjas, twirling a katana around in his hands, "Get them!"

"Now men! NOW!" bellowed Gong loudly.

His soldiers sprung into action immediately. Three of them grabbed a bag full of sleeping powder that they had on their belts and threw them at the ninjas just as they prepared to strike. The bags slammed down onto the ground at the ninja's feet and burst like a water-filled balloon. The powder erupted out of the bags and flew into their faces, blinding the ninjas and causing them to cough loudly. The powder took effect immediately, the four ninjas collapsing onto the floor in a heap and falling asleep the moment the power entered their bloodstream. The general was pleased that his plan was working. The sleeping powder had been his idea and it was working perfectly. Two of his men got out some rope and tied up the knocked out ninjas so they could carry them back to the Royal Palace easily and without any resistance. Gong turned to face his men.

"OK, you know the powder works so search every inch of this hideout and subdue any ninjas you find." he ordered, "I will release the dragon girl and her friends."

"Sir, yes sir!" the entire squad barked in unison.

With that said, Gong lumbered on ahead as his men stayed behind to search any of the other corridors around for more Red Scarves. General Gong knew where he was going. Just earlier today, he had interrogated one of the eight captured ninjas that had tried to rob the Magister last night and managed to get him to tell him where their prison cells were. The ninja had even drawn him a map so he could find his way. The armoured panda glanced at the map, which he had taped to the back of his shield so he would always see it, and he followed it. He was to turn left at the end of the corridor he was currently in and then take the stairs down until he reached the bottom, which would then take him right to a grey door marked "cell blockade". Gong hoped that the map was accurate and the ninja hadn't misdirected him purposefully just to get him in danger. He had promised to free the ninja if the map was accurate to the last detail after all, though the general had been lying to make the ninja comply. Gong followed the instructions on the map to the letter and soon enough, found himself at the grey door marked "cell blockade". Gong tried the door and just as he expected, it was locked. This wasn't a problem for him. Gong raised his shield, stepped back as far as he could and then charged towards the door like a thundering rhinoceros.

"Oh YEAH!" he bellowed as he crashed straight through the door, knocking it off its hinges and slamming it down onto the floor callously.

As the general had expected, there were guards on duty to make sure nobody could break into the cells or indeed get out of them. The guards saw Gong straight away and they charged straight towards him. Gong raised his arm and threw his shield at the guards like a giant metal Frisbee. It was like having a dustbin lid thrown straight at you, only much harder. The shield walloped the guards in the heads and knocked them all out instantly. Gong quickly tied them up and propped them against the wall, leaving them aside for the moment while he focused on the more important task at hand. He snatched the keys to the cells from one of the ninjas and peered into the cells one at a time to see which one held Lilac and her friends. He found them in a cell numbered "8643". Smiling to himself, Gong inserted the key into the lock of the cell and twisted it, unlocking the door and opening it. The moment the door opened, Gong found himself being embraced gratefully by a very excited Lilac, Carol and Milla as they rushed out of the cell, relieved to be free at last. Gong laughed gleefully and hugged the girls back.

"General Gong, you made it!" squealed Lilac excitedly, "You found us and got us outta here! Thanks so much for coming!"

"Well that WAS what we planned remember?" noted Gong, "Of course I came for you three!"

"And we're grateful you did!" exclaimed Carol, "Seriously, we were spending like the most boring Christmas Eve of our lives in there! It's good to be out of that cell!"

"So how's everything going?" asked Lilac, "Your men doing well arresting the Red Scarves?"

"I brought a large squadron with me and they're all armed with sleeping powder bombs to send the scarves into dreamland before they can realize what's happening!" boasted Gong, "It works perfectly so I can safely assume we have this invasion in the bag!"

"Suh-weet!" exclaimed Carol excitedly, punching the air with her fist, "In your face Natalya!"

"I'll say." agreed Milla, pleased that things were finally going well at long last, "Before we leave this place though, I need to find my mommy and daddy."

"Your mom and dad? Are they here too?" asked Gong curiously.

"They were members of the Red Scarves, but not by choice." explained Lilac, "Milla told me and Carol that they had been kidnapped and forced to join the Red Scarves. That's why she's been separated from them for so long." she added, earning a nod of understanding from General Gong.

Just as she finished her sentence, Lilac noticed that Milla was already scampering down the corridor on all fours and sniffing for something. She was trying to find her parents' scent and being a Basset hound, it didn't take her long to find the scent. Her sensitive nose picked it up and she found her parents' cell, which was numbered "5295".

"My parents are in there!" cried Milla excitedly.

"In that case, let's reunite you with them at last." said Lilac brightly.

She took the keys from General Gong's hand and ran over to the cell containing Milla's parents. She unlocked the door and opened it, standing back so Miguel and Lela could run out of the cell and embrace their beloved daughter happily. The dragon watched with awe as the puppy embraced her loving parents tightly. She had wanted to grant Milla's wish of getting her parents back just in time for Christmas and now Milla was right there, hugging her parents like there was no tomorrow. Despite the fact they had reunited last night, the hounds felt like they'd been separated again for too long but now they were reunited, and this time Natalya wasn't going to keep them apart.

"Milla my darling! How ever did you get out of your cell?" asked Lela curiously.

"I didn't get out myself, General Gong of Shang Tu got me and my friends out!" replied Milla, "Oh and speaking of my friends, here they are! Lilac opened your cell door for you two! Come and meet them!"

She grabbed her parents by the sleeves and showed them to Lilac and Carol. The dragon and wildcat were smiling at Milla's parents, pleased to see them in person at last and to see them back with Milla. Miguel and Lela stood forward and shook the girls' hands.

"And you two must be the famed Lilac and Carol." said Miguel brightly, "We've heard much about you two from Natalya. We even saw you two sneaking aboard that "Lord Brevon" guy's ship while we were keeping a close watch on it. It's very nice to meet you two at last."

"Why thank you Mr. Basset." said Lilac politely, "And you saw me and Carol sneaking aboard Brevon's ship? Why didn't you come over and help then? You could have been reunited with Milla back then!" she exclaimed.

"Natalya." Lela replied bluntly.

"Nuff said." put in Carol, "That witch kept you two from going near Milla obviously. Well that's too bad for her. You three are all back together and now the Basset family can celebrate Christmas as a family once again!"

"Yay!" piped Milla excitedly, "I can't wait to celebrate Christmas with you tomorrow mommy and daddy! It'll be so much fun, especially with Lilac and Carol! We're gonna have so much fun together! Whee!"

"I know little Milla." said Lela sweetly, "But we still have to deal with Natalya…if she's still running loose, she can easily slit all our throats and that'll be it."

"Well because Lilac and Carol told me and the Magister everything we needed to know about the Red Scarves and their plan, I brought some men down there to arrest the entire group." announced General Gong proudly, "We're using sleeping powder to capture them all easily. As for Natalya, I've sent Neera Li over to Shuigang to deal with her before she can murder King Dail."

"That's certainly amazing…" gasped Miguel, "But I thought Lilac and Carol didn't tell you guys anything."

"We lied. Duh." snorted Carol, "Do you really think we WOULDN'T give away valuable information about our enemies to our friends?"

"Point taken…" murmured Miguel, a little taken aback by the wildcat's rude delivery of her words, "But do you think this "Neera Li" woman will be enough to stop Natalya? She's very fast and powerful you know."

"It's like she's everywhere at once!" shrieked Lela, "That poor woman won't stand a chance against her!"

"Don't be so nervous Bassets, she has an ice sceptre! She'll freeze Natalya before she can even blink at her!" General Gong announced confidently.

"And what if she can't hit her?" noted Miguel frantically, "What if she even loses her sceptre to Natalya? Then she's dead."

"It doesn't matter now, we're all free so we can go over to Shuigang and make DOUBLY sure that Natalya fails!" declared Lilac hotly, "Besides, I owe her a broken nose for the way she's treated me and my friends…" she added bitterly.

"Me too!" growled Carol, punching her fists together in rage.

"Me three!" added Milla.

"And me and my wife would like a rematch with her ourselves…" murmured Miguel crossly, "And since we have helpers and that Neera Li person with her ice sceptre, we may have a little chance against her."

"Yeah, we could keep Natalya busy and Neera could freeze her!" cried Lilac excitedly, "Yes! She's as good as defeated tonight!"

"Then let us get going over to Shuigang." announced General Gong, "I can come with you all too if you like. My men have the Red Scarves in the bag, they don't need me anymore."

"It'll be great to have you with us." the dragon girl replied cheerily, "OK then my friends, let us teach Natalya what happens to those who try to ruin Christmas for us all!"

The group all punched the air with excitement, yelling their approval of Lilac's determination to make Natalya pay for all of her crimes. Tonight was going to be their night and they could hardly wait to lay the smack down on Natalya at long last…

* * *

Neera Li watched very closely as the busy city of Shuigang prepared for tonight's big event. Every Christmas Eve, Shuigang held an annual festival that was meant to honour the night the dragon first arrived on Avalice and then inspired a grand generation of Avalicians that was still living life to this very day. This was the celebration that Shuigang looked forward to more than anything in the world for the celebration was the prologue to the great Christmas celebration they would be having the next day.

It was already 9 o' clock in the evening as the celebration was preparing to start. Neera could barely keep her eyes off of the tumultuous, swarming crowds that were building up outside of her former prince's palace, waiting for the celebration to begin. Being a former Shuigang resident herself, she had to admit that she had missed this celebration since she had left Shuigang, hoping to knock some sense into Dail during his period of being Brevon's brainwashed minion. That time still burned in the back of her mind and she hoped that sooner or later, she'd be able to push the thoughts out of her mind for good. At the moment, Neera was focused on one thing only. And that was to make sure King Dail lived to celebrate Christmas Day tomorrow and that Natalya was captured for good. She had been waiting upon the roof of a nearby building for two hours now but she was showing no signs of giving up. The panda was very dedicated to her duties. If she was given a task, she would carry it out until it was complete. She refused to leave her spot until she saw Natalya and arrested her for her crimes against Avalice and especially for forcing Avalice's biggest heroes into trying to kill the Magister, the man she was loyal to more than anybody in the world. It also sickened her how Natalya was planning to kill the boy she had once been loyal to before leaving Shuigang and even take over his kingdom and rule it herself. Neera Li had defended Prince Dail and his father when the King of Shuigang had still been alive and she was going to defend Dail again, this time now he was a king.

She fixed her gaze on the palace as the crowd finished gathering around, excitedly waiting for Dail to show himself and make the grand speech that would start off the celebration. Unbeknownst to her, the woman she had come to arrest was also watching the palace with a very keen eye. Natalya and Spade were both standing on a building together and watching the Palace of Shuigang very closely. They had chosen their position very carefully, all part of Natalya's meticulous nature. They were standing on a building that was positioned closer to the back of the palace, a very clever position to pick for very few, if any people at all, would expect them to attack the king from there. The building was at just the right angle for Spade to blow the dart straight into Dail's neck from behind. The panda had a telescope and a blowpipe with a toxic dart already loaded into it, ready to use when the time was right. The two criminals had been sitting and waiting for half an hour and Neera still hadn't spotted them. She was expecting Natalya and Spade to be somewhere in the centre of the city, facing directly in front of Shuigang Palace. Unfortunately for her, Natalya wasn't so predictable. Whenever she was setting up an assassination, she always picked the position nobody expected, nor thought to look in. Never did she position herself in the most obvious spot ever. Spade peered through his telescope to see if Dail was going to walk on stage anytime soon. He could see the vast, bustling crowds before the stage in front of the palace but Dail wasn't coming out yet. He looked over his shoulder at Natalya.

"Dail should be coming out on stage any moment now. The crowd's fully gathered and it's nearly time for his speech to begin." he whispered.

"Good." muttered Natalya, "Now Spade, remember that I'm watching you…" she hissed.

She jabbed Spade in the back with a dagger that she had drawn out from her sleeve and was now holding firmly in her hand. She didn't trust Spade to go ahead with the murder without hesitating so she had to make doubly sure that he would obey her commands instantly. She couldn't afford to have Spade hesitate. He had to act immediately. The panda grumbled in his mind as he felt the sharp pinprick of the dagger's tip in the small of his back. One wrong move and it would be a literal case of "stabbed in the back" for him.

"I'll shoot my brother the moment he begins the speech." muttered Spade, "Happy?"

"I don't care if you wait until halfway through the speech as long as you do the deed!" snapped Natalya angrily, "Now keep quiet!"

"It's not like anybody has a chance of hearing us in this crowd…" snorted Spade rudely.

He peeked through the telescope again, keeping an eye on the stage ahead of the palace. It was huge and rectangular and made completely out of solid wood. There were lights around all four edges, brightening the stage up tremendously. As Spade watched the stage for any sign of his brother, he failed to notice that he had made a big mistake. The telescope he was using to spy on the palace was shiny, too shiny to be taken out on a stealth mission. Natalya had noticed this and had chosen their current position, hoping that the moonlight wouldn't shine over the palace and onto the telescope. But the moon had moved slightly and now there was a little shine on the tip of Spade's telescope. Neera spotted it from where she was standing. It had caught her by surprise and she began to wonder what it was. Some kind of weapon gleaming in the moonlight? It could be a guard but the Royal Priestess knew that she was carrying out a compulsory task right now. She couldn't leave anything to chance, she had to check it out.

"I hope that was just a guard…" she murmured as she leapt off of the building she had been perched upon and ran over to where the moonlight had been shining on.

Spade and Natalya were completely unaware of the fact they were soon to have company. As Neera ran towards them, she stole a quick glance to her left and saw that the young man she had once served faithfully was coming on stage. The crowd exploded with applause as King Dail finally emerged from within his palace and strode confidently on stage, smiling happily at his faithful subjects as they greeted him gleefully. King Dail had once been known as Prince Dail but he was now taking the role of king after Lord Brevon had brutally murdered his father. The terrible scene still haunted him to this day, watching helplessly as Brevon sliced his injured father's head clean off his shoulders with one swish of his blade. And then Brevon had proceeded to brainwash him and create chaos on Avalice with Brevon's forces and his own resources. He still remembered the terrible moment when he had fought with Lilac, Carol and Milla and tried to kill them despite them being there to save him and all of Avalice from Brevon's tyranny. His brother Spade had been on hand to knock some sense into him. The two had fought callously but during the fight, Spade had landed a lucky shot on his head and snapped him out of Brevon's mind-control. The whole experience had traumatized Dail and while the scars of that terrible time would never fade nor heal, he had recovered from his ordeal and was now comfortable in his position as king. His father would be very proud of him if he could see him now. Dail reached the end of the stage and held his hands up for silence. The crowd's applause died into sudden silence as they waited for him to begin the speech that would start the ceremony. Dail felt totally relaxed as he was about to start the speech. He had practiced it many times and kept assuring himself that everything would be fine. He wasn't nervous in the slightest.

"Greetings my fellow subjects." he announced as eloquently as his father before him would have done, "It gives me great pleasure to be standing before all of you this Christmas Eve, just itching to get the ceremony started and begin the prologue to Avalice's most wonderful time of the year…"

As he spoke, Spade put the blowpipe to his lips and aimed carefully at Dail's neck, using the telescope to get a good look at him and to make sure he was right on target. He couldn't mess this up. He had one dart, he had to hit him just right. The dart was sharp as a flint, it could penetrate Dail anywhere on his body with ease and his opulent green and yellow robes would offer no protection whatsoever. It made Spade feel bad that he was going to kill his own brother, and it hadn't been too long since he had been looking for who murdered his and Dail's father. But Spade would sooner take a life then let Natalya take his own. He remembered that the evil crime mistress was still standing behind him with the dagger poking his back. She could stab him instantly if he dared to say no and Spade wasn't ready to die yet. He would do it and he would do it right first time.

_Merry Christmas to you brother…_ he thought sarcastically in his mind.

As Dail continued his speech, Spade positioned the blowpipe in just the right place to get a clear shot at the back of his neck. Dail didn't seem to be moving too much, mostly making gestures with his hands and looking left and right to address all of the crowd that stood listening to him eagerly. He wouldn't suspect a thing. Spade prepared to blow the dart into Dail's neck but just as he inhaled deeply through his mouth, Neera arrived at the building he and Natalya were standing upon. She reacted immediately upon seeing that it was Spade on top of the building and with a blowpipe to his mouth. The panda aimed her ice sceptre at Spade and fired a beam of ice straight at him. The beam hit Spade at full force and froze him instantly before the Red Scarf second-in-command had any idea on what was happening. Natalya leapt back in alarm, surprised at what had just happened. Even King Dail stopped his speech and turned his head to see what was happening. He had seen the ice beam out of the corner of his eye and was curious to see what was happening. To his astonishment, he saw Neera Li running up towards a building that had a frozen Spade standing atop it. He was more shocked to see his criminal brother more than anything. The crowd looked at their king nervously, wondering what it was that had caught his attention. Dail turned back to the crowd, his face suddenly dark and serious.

"Wait here a moment." he said, "There's something I need to check out."

With that said, the panda ran off stage and towards the building that Neera Li was approaching. He just saw Neera jump up onto the building, landing beside the frozen Spade. It amazed Dail to see his evil brother frozen solid in a thick block of ice, completely immobilized and unable to move. He hadn't though Neera would ever be fast enough to catch Spade and yet the Royal Priestess had proved him wrong. Dail jumped onto the building and landed beside Neera. He saw that the female panda was standing in a combat ready stance and preparing to fight a strange helmeted woman in a leather trench coat. He had never seen her before and was interested in knowing who it was.

"Neera! What brings you here and what's going on?" asked Dail curiously.

"I just saved your life." explained Neera, "Spade was about to murder you until I froze him. As for what's going on, there's no time to explain. Just know that right now, you are looking at the leader of the Red Scarves herself."

She motioned towards the angry Natalya, standing in a battle-ready stance before them with her hands summing up her emotions for Dail. Dail couldn't believe what he was hearing. This woman was the leader of the Red Scarves? He had expected Spade to be the leader for Spade never talked about this woman whenever he brought up the scarves in his presence. Then again, Spade rarely ever talked about the scarves to him anyway.

"So this is who my criminal brother's working for?" muttered Dail, "Well I think it's time she was put behind bars. So what's your business then assassin?" he demanded angrily.

"I am here to take your life King Dail of Shuigang." snarled Natalya, "And I'm going to take over your kingdom. Spade was supposed to kill you but this heathen got in my way!" she barked, pointing directly at Neera Li, "I know why you're here Neera Li…you came to stop me from succeeding in my plans! And I bet those pesky girls Lilac and Carol told you what I was up to, why else would you be here waiting for me?"

"I wasn't told anything." lied Neera, "I guess it was just a coincidence that I just happened to visit my old place of refuge and you happened to be there too Natalya."

"You're lying…I know you are." the Lead Scarf growled menacingly, "Lilac and Carol disobeyed my orders and told on me while their speaker was broken! There's no other way you could have known I was going to be here! And you shouldn't even know who I am either, or that I'm the leader of the Red Scarves! Lilac and Carol assured me that all you were told was my name! But they lied to me! They told you what I forbid them from telling you while they were your prisoners! They've ruined everything! I'm going to kill you two pesky pandas and then when I get back, I'm going to kill Lilac, Carol and Milla!"

"Over my dead body!" snarled Neera.

"Allow me to grant that wish…" purred Natalya menacingly.

She then reached into her trench coat and pulled out a hidden weapon that she had taken with her in case of emergencies. Due to her very long coat, the coat was able to conceal the weapon perfectly. She pulled out two long metal poles, one with a blade at the end, and clipped them both together, the two staff halves forming a naginata. The blade at the end was sharp and shiny, glistening in the moonlight above. Natalya could easily cut somebody in half with the blade at the end of her staff. Neera didn't let the weapon bother her at all. A weapon was a weapon, no matter what kind it was. She could easily fight against it and take down her opponent. Neera charged towards Natalya, a big mistake that would cost her dearly in the ensuing battle. She swung her sceptre at Natalya but the woman blocked the blow with her naginata, moving at a speed unlike anything Neera had ever experienced before. Natalya and Neera then swung their weapons madly at each other, blocking every blow either one through at each other with relative ease, the top and bottom ends of the staffs clashing hard against each other as they swung their weapons. But Natalya moved slightly faster than Neera did, an advantage point that ended up swinging the fight into he favour. She swung the staff upwards, moving much to fast for Neera to react, and she walloped Neera's staff upwards. The girl's arms raised along with the staff, giving Natalya the perfect opportunity to kick Neera in the solar plexus and knock her off the roof. The panda screamed as she was sent plummeting down into a fresh pile of snow down below. She was lucky, the snow ended up saving her and cushioning her fall. Angered, Dail charged towards Natalya and began throwing a rapid round of fisticuffs on the mysterious woman. But Natalya blocked every blow he throw with her naginata and then spun around on the balls of her feet, catching Dail off guard for long enough to receive a roundhouse kick to the gut that threw Dail off the roof and sent him crashing down into the snow beside Neera Li.

The crowd had nervously glanced over at where Dail had gone to see what was happening and they were horrified to see somebody attacking their beloved king like this. Panicking, the crowd fled for their lives, not wanting to get caught up in the crossfire. Natalya broke Spade free from the ice cube he was imprisoned in by smashing the ice with a powerful punch. Despite how hard the ice had been, Natalya didn't seem hurt after punching it. The moment Spade was free, he sprung into action. He leapt off the roof and charged straight towards his brother. He knew Natalya would want him to kill Dail even though the mission had been compromised so he drew out some cards and threw them at his royal brother. Dail reacted fast, leaping onto his feet and dodging the deadly cards. He drew out some cards of his own and threw them back at Spade. Like his brother, he used cards as a weapon though he didn't use his for murder purposes, only for defence. Spade dodged the attack and tossed some more cards at Dail, hoping to hit him. Dail threw some cards at Spade's cards and blocked his attacks. Then the two pandas started to circle each other, waiting to make the first move.

"Why brother? Why are you working with this vile woman?" cried Dail desperately, "Why are you trying to assassinate me?!"

"Simple: it's your life or mine and I dunno about you...but I'm not interested in dying anytime soon." retorted Spade.

"Neither am I Spade!" snapped Dail.

The two pandas charged towards each other, leaving green afterimages of themselves as they boosted, and they collided callously into each other. They began throwing punches as hard as they could, striking each other on various parts of the body while also blocking other attacks. The panda brothers were evenly matched and they both knew it. They had to find a weak spot on each other or the fight would go on for too long and they'd both tire each other out.

As they fought, Neera and Natalya charged at each other. Neera fired beams of ice at the martial arts expert but her attacks never got close as Natalya leapt into the air in an amazing somersault and landed directly in front of Neera. The priestess had no time to defend herself as Natalya drove the bottom end of her staff hard into her chin, a horrible crunch sound coming on the heels of the attack as she was hit. Neera staggered backwards and worried for a moment if her jaw was broken. Natalya didn't give her chance to find out as she spun around and smacked Neera in the legs with her naginata. The panda girl was brought down hard onto her back as her legs were taken out from underneath her. She tried to get back up but Natalya pressed her foot down on the girl's chest, pinning her to the snowy ground and preventing her from going anywhere. Natalya pointed the blade at Neera's chest and prepared to stab her. The panda girl watched as Natalya raised the weapon above her head and prepared to stab down on her. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see what was about to become of her. But just before Natalya could kill Neera, a green block of energy suddenly shot out of nowhere and slammed straight into Natalya like a car driving straight into another car. Natalya was thrown off her feet and sent crashing down into the snow, dropping her naginata. Dail and Spade stopped fighting each other and stared incredulously at what had happened. Spade in particular was amazed that somebody had actually managed to land a hit on Natalya. The crime mistress picked herself up and received the shock of her life. Standing before her was a very angry and determined looking Lilac the Dragon Girl and with her was Carol the Wildcat and Milla the Hound! There was even Miguel and Lela standing behind the girls and they were also joined with a very determined General Gong too! Natalya could hardly speak for a moment as Lilac strode forward and picked up her fallen naginata. The dragon's face was confident and smug, the kind of face that suggested the words "You're busted" without the mouth having to say them.

"What?! How did you five get out of your cells?!" shrieked Natalya angrily.

"General Gong gave us a hand." retorted Lilac, "You see Natalya, we lied to you. Carol broke my speaker accidentally last night and thus, we told the Magister EVERYTHING you didn't want us to tell him!"

"Gong broke into your hideout and has arrested all of your crummy ninjas!" sneered Carol, "Now there's just you and Spade to lock up but not before we kick the crap out of you!"

"You've lost Natalya!" declared Milla, "Your Christmas Raid is a failure! You've failed to kill Zao and the Magister and now you've failed to kill King Dail! Give up and my friends might be nice to you!"

"NO CHANCE!" bellowed Natalya, "I will kill every last one of you, even you my special little Lilac!" she growled, "Keeping you fools alive was a mistake, a mistake I will NOT repeat!"

"Just try it! We'll beat you this time Natalya!" declared Lilac, "Everybody, get her and don't hold back!"

The entire team charged towards Natalya, except for Spade. He wasn't going to get involved in this battle at all. He'd sooner let everybody do the dirty work for him. He hoped that Natalya would be beaten so that he wouldn't have to kill Dail for her. Natalya thundered towards her opponents like a charging bull. She then suddenly sprang into the air and kicked Lilac directly in the forehead. While still airborne, she kicked Carol's head and then finished off by kicking Milla down, her foot slamming hard on the dog's cranium and throwing her onto her back. It was like jumping on stepping stones for the wicked woman. Just as Natalya landed on the ground, Gong threw his shield at her like a Frisbee. That was a very big mistake for the woman caught it in her hands and then proceeded to wield it against him. She ran towards Gong and began swinging the shield at Gong, bashing him across the face and torso as if she was smacking him with a large dinner plate. Gong grunted as the heavy, solid shield walloped him around the face. He had no idea how hard his shield really was and now he was finding out for the first time. Natalya then uppercut Gong with the shield, throwing the heavyweight panda down onto his back. Miguel and Lela came charging towards Natalya, hoping to hit her before she was ready for them. But the woman heard them coming and she spun around on he heels, throwing the shield straight at the two. The shield hit Miguel and Lela in the stomachs and knocked them down like skittles in a bowling alley. Neera Li and Dail ran towards Natalya and threw some punches at her but Natalya blocked all their attacks and then kicked them both down onto the ground, the two pandas grunting loudly with the impact of her kick.

Lilac picked herself up and spun the naginata around in her hands, preparing to hit Natalya with it. But to Lilac's surprise, Natalya pulled out two staff halves from inside her coat and clipped them together. Natalya was not the kind of woman who only brought one weapon. She had another naginata in her coat and was now ready to use it on Lilac. The fierce rivals threw staff strikes and blade swings at each other, Natalya blocking all of Lilac's moves with ease and Lilac trying as hard as she possibly could to keep up with her abductor. But Natalya was more experienced than Lilac so the dragon girl was having a lot of trouble keeping up with her. Natalya then suddenly slashed Lilac across the face with the blade of her naginata, the dragon girl screaming in pain as a fresh cut opened up on her cheek. Then Natalya swung her leg upwards and kicked Lilac in the chin, snapping her head backwards and throwing her down onto the ground. Carol jumped on Natalya from behind, clawing viciously at her helmet but doing no damage at all. She may as well have been trying to cut open a solid steel wall. Natalya seized the wildcat by the arms and swung her around straight into Milla, the two girls sprawling down on the snow as they collided with each other. Miguel aimed a powerful kick at Natalya's legs but the woman blocked the blow with her naginata and then swung the weapon upwards. This caused Miguel's leg to swing up and throw him off balance. Lela tried to punch Natalya but the woman stepped backwards and slashed her across the upper arm with her naginata. Lela screamed in pain and clutched her bleeding arm in agony. Natalya prepared to kill Lela with a single stab of her naginata but then General Gong picked up his shield and charged straight towards her. He rammed the woman away from the female hound and brought her down onto her back. Natalya picked herself up and just as General Gong swung the shield at him, she jumped up into the air out of the way. She landed atop the shield and swung her naginata down hard on Gong's head. A blow to the head wasn't enough to knock Gong out but it was enough to momentarily disorientate him for a moment. Natalya then jumped off of the shield and landed feet first on Gong's face, throwing him down and propelling herself into a graceful somersault through the air.

Just as she landed, Lilac swung the naginata at her and smacked the woman hard in the small of her back. Natalya didn't even flinch from the attack. Being very tolerant of pain, it was difficult for even Lilac to hurt her. The dragon didn't give up though. She swung the naginata forwards and drove the blunt end into Natalya's stomach. The woman bent over and Lilac then took the perfect opportunity to kick Natalya in the cranium and knock her backwards. Natalya stored her naginata away and switched to another tactic. She jumped towards Lilac and twirled through the air in a move similar to the dragon girl's very own Dragon Cyclone. Lilac was walloped callously by Natalya as she edged closed to her. It was like being punched by a spinning top. Lilac landed down onto her side and grimaced in pain. She picked herself up and used her Dragon Cyclone, spinning on the tips of her toes and swinging her whippy tendrils around. Natalya merely jumped up and kicked Lilac in the head, breaking her attack and throwing her down onto her back. Carol and Milla scampered towards Natalya but the crime mistress spun around and ran towards them. She grabbed both Carol and Milla by their throats, the move so fast that neither cat or dog saw it coming, and she threw them both onto the nearby stage where Dail should have been standing to deliver his Christmas Eve speech. Lilac ran behind Natalya and whipped her across the back with her tendrils. Natalya seemed to flinch in pain from the attack, the first time in her life that she had ever reacted in such a way to being hit. But she retaliated with a whip of her own ponytail that left Lilac feeling very dizzy and light-headed. Natalya then grabbed Lilac by the neck and hoisted her clean off her feet. Lilac gagged and fought desperately in the grip of Natalya's hand.

"Put...me...down!" choked Lilac.

"I consider you my best student, you're even my FAVOURITE student Lilac! I called you special, I spared your friends for your benefit! And THIS is how you repay me?!" snarled Natalya, "You are no Red Scarf...you are not even a dragon! You're a fraud Lilac, a disgrace to the dragon race! And I'm going to put you out of MY misery!"

She then placed her other hand on Lilac's head and prepared to snap the girl's neck. Lilac was very frightened. She was going to die and nobody could stop Natalya from killing her. But just as the crime boss was about to finish off the dragon, Milla threw a shield hard into the small of Natalya's back. Natalya flinched and dropped Lilac onto the snow in pain. Milla had thrown it in just the right place and at just the right force. Lilac quickly reacted before Natalya could recover. She kicked Natalya hard in the face. So hard in fact that her helmet was knocked clean off of her head! Natalya fell down backwards onto the snow, her helmet crashing down hard onto the stage in front of Carol. The wildcat picked it up and gasped incredulously.

"Ohmigosh, you took her helmet off!" cried Carol.

"I did indeed..." murmured Lilac, feeling triumphant for being the first Avalician ever to unmask her former leader, "Now we know what she REALLY looks like..."

As Natalya picked herself up and glared at Lilac, the dragon felt her heart skip a beat in shock. Natalya's true face as fully organic and looking extremely healthy, eliminating any possibility of the helmet being some kind of life support system or even being her head in general. Her head was mauve like her hands and ponytail, which really was a tendril and part of Natalya's head and not an attachment on the helmet, and her face was a lighter shade of mauve. Her eyes were fiery red with black outlines and she had singular, large eyelashes like Lilac herself. Her skin was scaly and she had four sharp horns on her head. Her teeth were sharp and gritted in a snarling maw of anger and rage. Her eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating the woman's anger at being unmasked. Lilac couldn't believe her eyes. Everybody else who saw Natalya was just as gobsmacked as the lilac-coloured reptile was. They knew what Natalya was. The scaly skin, the long whippy tendril and the four horns couldn't possibly make it any clearer what species she was, even if it was unbelievable.

"Oh...my...gosh!" squeaked Lilac, "Natalya...you're...A **DRAGON**?!"

* * *

**_HOLY CRAP! NATALYA'S A DRAGON?! 0_0_**

**_Didn't see that coming did ya?! So what will happen next? Find out next time on Freedom Planet: The Christmas Raid..._**


	8. The Fight Before Christmas

_Chapter 8: The Fight Before Christmas_

Lilac the Dragon Girl never could have prepared herself for such a shocking reveal. She had been a member of the Red Scarves a long time ago and never in her life had she suspected that she had been working for a dragon the whole time. She had often speculated what kind of Avalician Natalya the Lead Scarf was but she had never suspected for a minute that Natalya was a dragon, just like herself. Lilac played back certain events in her head. In their first fight, Natalya had twirled around in a manner similar to herself. Then there were her ravings about how special dragons were and how special she considered Lilac just for being a dragon. And then Natalya had labelled her as a disgrace to the dragon race. All of those hints given to her and yet the dragon girl hadn't been able to put the pieces together until now. She still couldn't believe that she was staring face-to-face at another dragon. She hadn't seen a dragon for years and now she was looking right at one. Lilac had considered on occasion if there were more dragons in the world than just her. Now she knew. Her friends Carol Tea and Milla Basset were as speechless with shock as she was. All this time they had been fighting against ANOTHER dragon?! Now they understood why they had been overpowered so easily by the vile woman. General Gong, Neera Li, King Dail and Spade the Panda couldn't believe their eyes either, especially Spade for he had been serving Natalya for years and yet he had never known his boss was a dragon like Lilac herself was. Natalya glared at everybody with her limbs shaking in rage. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was seeing red no matter where she looking. Lilac stepped back nervously. It seemed she had woken a sleeping giant in Natalya by kicking off her helmet.

"I can't believe it…I just can't believe it! Natalya, you're a dragon!" squeaked Lilac.

"Yes! Yes I am!" snarled Natalya, "I was hoping to keep that fact a secret until the time was right! But you've gone and ruined all that now you impudent little girl!"

"Oh cry me a river." snorted Carol, "She kicked your helmet off. Big deal."

"SILENCE!" bellowed Natalya angrily, making Carol jump in alarm and drop her helmet onto the stage she and Milla were standing on.

There was a brief silence before Natalya carried on, her expression still angrier than a tormented bull at a bull-fighting arena.

"Now you can see why I love dragons so much and why I consider you so special Sash Lilac!" the crime mistress ranted, "I am a dragon and being a dragon is what makes ME feel so special! Dragons came to our world and pretty much changed our ways of life for the better. Avalice is a great, prosperous world thanks to the magic and grace of the dragons and I wish to honour that!"

"Oh yeah, so you form a gang of thieves and assassins and go around robbing and killing people? THAT'S your idea of honouring the dragon that inspired Avalice's three kingdoms?!" snapped Lilac.

"Don't you talk to me like that you little brat!" snapped Natalya, "The dragon is the superior race of Avalicians! The dragons even MIXED with our ancestors! That's how special we truly are Lilac! And it's why I deserve to rule over Avalice! A dragon inspired the three kingdoms we know and live in today so a dragon should rule over Avalice!"

"NO!" retorted Lilac, "That is not true at all! Nobody is the superior race! Everybody is special in their own ways! Dragons aren't superior to anybody Natalya! Dragons are as equal as all Avalicians!"

"You short-sighted child…do you not realize how special you are?!" cried Natalya angrily, "Do you not even FEEL special?! You're a dragon! That should make you feel more special than anybody in this stupid world!"

"I don't NEED to be special!" snapped Lilac, "As long as I FIGHT for something special, no amount of pain will EVER break my spirit! And defeating you and saving Christmas is something VERY special to fight for!"

"Oh yeah! You tell the crazy dragon Lilac!" Carol cheered happily, punching the air with her right fist.

Lilac beamed delightedly. Hearing the wildcat call Natalya a "crazy dragon" was quite satisfying for her. As for Natalya, she could only stare at Lilac for a moment as if she had said the most offensive, shocking thing in the world to her. She was furious with what Lilac had said to her. How dare this impudent little brat degrade dragons by being ignorant of how special they are! She was not going to let this stupid kid live a second longer. The longer she lived was a further demonizing of the proud, dragon race that she was proud to be part of. The leather-coated dragon clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes at her former favourite student. She no longer had any respect, nor fondness for Lilac. She only had hatred for her.

"You're not a dragon...you spit on our very name Sash Lilac. You're a disgrace to the dragon race! You demonize our very name and ignore how special it truly is to be a dragon! And just for that...I cannot let you live!" snarled Natalya, her voice like a volcano about to erupt, "I challenge you to a Dragon's Duel! You and me will fight to the death and your stupid friends are not allowed to help you. If you're truly a dragon, then you will accept my challenge!" she finished, pointing sharply at her opponent as if hoping to summon a dagger from nowhere and drive it straight into the dragon girl's heart.

"I won't fight YOU to the death, but I DO accept your one-on-one challenge!" yelled Lilac, "I will fight you alone and when I defeat you, you can rot in a cell for all eternity! Then the dragon race will have a better name without YOU demonizing it!" she added hotly.

"Lilac! Don't be an idiot! You can't fight her alone!" cried Carol frantically.

"Please let us help!" wailed Milla, "You need all of us!"

"No. I have to do it alone." said Lilac grimly, "Besides, I know that Natalya's a dragon now. That'll make her easier to fight. And I want to prove to Natalya that I can beat her myself. That is something VERY special to fight for."

"And bone-headedly stupid too." noted Carol, "You're NOT fighting Natalya alone and that is final! We're helping whether you like it or not!"

"No, you're not Carol. And THAT is final." said Lilac grimly, "In a Dragon's Duel, the rules have to be obeyed. No questions asked. Besides, I beat Lord Brevon didn't I? I can beat this witch in dragon's clothing! Brevon was twice the threat she ever was!" the dragon declared confidently.

"OK but if you get your ass kicked then we're jumping in to help regardless of the rules." the wildcat sighed loudly.

Lilac nodded agreeably and then focused all her attention on Natalya. With the duel set in stone, the two dragons bent down in battle ready stances and prepared to fight. They circled one another slowly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike at each other. Both dragons had their eyes firmly fixed on one another, teeth gritted, eyes narrowed and hands open.

"You are gonna be sorry you tried to ruin Christmas Natalya." Lilac threatened, her voice cold and serious.

"And you will be sorry you dared to double cross me Lilac." snarled Natalya threateningly.

Lilac knew that she would indeed be very sorry if she made one wrong move in this battle. Natalya was older than Lilac and had much more experience and skills in the battlefield. She was only sixteen years old, not quite an adult herself yet. But the purple-skinned Avalician knew that her age had nothing to do with this battle. She was only a kid yet she had taken down an evil, galactic world conqueror single-handedly and said world conqueror had taken down many heroes in the past according to her alien friend Torque. If she could defeat Lord Brevon then she could defeat Natalya. Lilac knew that she couldn't keep charging into her opponent though. She had to be smarter than Natalya and make her moves more unpredictable. Being a dragon, Natalya knew all of Lilac's moves for they were a customary trademark amongst dragons of all kinds. But the same went for Lilac. She knew that Natalya could do since she was a dragon too but Natalya had spiced up her battle prowess by becoming a martial artist. Lilac knew some martial arts herself but not to the extent of Natalya. The dragon knew that she had to take the utmost care in this battle. She had to mix up her fighting moves and be unpredictable. One wrong move and Christmas Day would be celebrated without her. She imagined Carol and Milla spending all of tomorrow crying their hearts out over her and visiting her grave instead of being jolly and merry like anybody on Christmas should be. She couldn't let her enemy win this fight. She had to come out on top for the good of her friends.

A tense minute passed between the two she-dragons before the battle finally begun. Lilac and Natalya both charged at each other at speeds only dragons like them could possibly achieve. As they were charging towards each other, they both drew their fists backwards and threw a punch at one another's faces. Their fists both slammed into each other, throwing both opponents back as if somebody had squeezed in between them and pushed them back to separate them. They skidded across the snow before charging at each other again. Lilac noticed that Natalya seemed a little angrier than before as the fight was beginning. She could use this to her advantage. Make the Lead Scarf angry, she'll make mistakes and give you more opportunities to hit her. Lilac jumped into the air just as her furious opponent swiped at her with a clawed hand. That was something she knew she had to avoid. Natalya had claws; a feature Lilac wouldn't have herself until she was older. Dragon claws were ferocious weapons and they had to be avoided at all costs. Lilac somersaulted over Natalya and spun around, whipping her across the back with her tendrils. The attack left Natalya grimacing but holding most of her pain to avoid screaming out loud. Natalya spun around on the balls of her feet, whipping her former favourite student across the face with her tendril. Lilac was thrown onto the ground by the attack, her face stinging madly from the attack. That was another advantage Natalya had. She could hit harder than she could and she was very endurable, able to withstand most forms of pain. Lilac wasn't as pain-resistant and while she could hit hard, Natalya would not go down so easily because of her endurance. She had to be more elusive or Natalya would wear her down.

Natalya spiralled through the air and tried to land a bone-crushing stomp kick on Lilac. If she hit her, her ribcage would be fractured and Lilac would be dead. The dragon rolled out of the way, leaving her trench coated opponent to stomp on the snow where she had been laying just seconds ago. Lilac jumped up onto her feet and kicked her opponent hard in the shoulder. The shoulder was one of Natalya's weaker spots. It wasn't her weakest spot but it was enough to make Natalya wince in pain and pause for a moment to clutch her aching shoulder. This gave Lilac the opportunity to batter Natalya with a Dragon Cyclone attack. The evil dragon found herself yelping in pain as she was hammered by the younger dragon's spinning attack. Lilac's attack concluded with Natalya being whisked off her feet and thrown into a pile of snow. But she wasn't down for long. The crime mistress picked herself up, curled up into a ball and boosted towards Lilac in a sparkling charge. Lilac knew this move very well, it was one of her fastest and most powerful attacks and it was impossible for a normal person to dodge. Lilac attempted to dodge but just as she threw her body aside, Natalya just caught her across the sides and threw her down into the snow. Lilac gasped as pain spread up through her ribs. She had been lucky Natalya hadn't hit her full on. She would have been in even more pain as a result. Natalya skidded to a halt and leapt into the air, somersaulting towards Lilac. Lilac spun into a ball and boosted directly into Natalya. It was something she had learned when as a member of the Red Scarves. If your opponent jumps towards you, you take advantage of that anyway you can. And she had done just that. Natalya was stricken hard by the blow and slammed down into the snow by Lilac. Carol, Milla, Gong, Neera, Miguel, Lela and Dail all cheered for their friend. Spade just watched very closely, not wanting to cheer in fear of angering Natalya. Until she was beaten, he had to keep his true opinions on her secret.

He watched on as the two dragons grappled with one another again. Natalya threw a powerful uppercut into Lilac's chin, throwing the girl's head backwards and causing her to stumble. Then the wicked dragon spun around on her heels and drove the heel of her right foot into Lilac's cheek. This sent Lilac sprawling across the ground, gathering up snow as she did so, and the young heroine only just had time to pick herself up as Natalya clawed at her. Lilac grabbed Natalya's wrists and held her claws firmly away from her.

"You're not a dragon Natalya! You're a monster!" declared Lilac, "You have no heart! You have no soul!"

"That is why I HAVE NO FEAR!" barked Natalya, "You die!"

She let out a vicious growl of rage and hate as she slashed Lilac violently across the face with her terrible claws. The dragon screamed in agony as fresh, bloody cuts spread out across her face. The biting cold of the winter night made it worse for her cuts began to sting in protest to the wind blowing around them. Smiling wickedly, Natalya then raised her leg and kicked Lilac hard in the solar plexus, her favourite target in a battle. The callous kick left Lilac winded and gasping for breath as she was thrown down onto her back. Lilac tried to get a moment to recover what air she had lost from the kick but Natalya didn't give her the time she needed. She grabbed Lilac by the huge strand of hair she had over her right eye and hauled the Avalician dragon onto her feet. Then she grabbed Lilac by the shoulders and tossed her onto the nearby stage as hard as she could. Lilac landed down hard on the stage with a terrible thump. Her first reaction was to see if she'd broken anything in the impact. Luckily for Lilac, her body wasn't too damaged from the attack. She could still fight but she wasn't sure how long she'd last before Natalya overpowered her. She had to think fast and fight smarter or she was done for.

Lilac picked herself up, straining slightly as she did so, and she turned around to see Natalya leaping towards her like a monster in a child's nightmare. Lilac almost laughed. Natalya of all people should know better than to jump towards the opponent. She had taken advantage of that already and now she was going to do it again. It seemed that Natalya's rage was distracting her after all. She doubted Natalya would make the same mistake twice if she wasn't as angry as she was now. Lilac stood up straight and swung her leg upwards into Natalya's face just as the dragon was in range. The kick threw Natalya's head backwards and sent her careening down into the snow at the foot of the stage. The evil dragon picked herself up and wiped snow off of her face. Surprisingly enough, she didn't look too angry with her opponent. She almost looked...impressed with her. She was half-smiling and her expression was softening up a little. Lilac began to feel nervous as Natalya climbed up onto the stage to join her. If Natalya was smiling, even half-smiling, that wasn't a good sign. Something ominous was about to happen and the dragon girl knew it.

"You're quite good Sash Lilac...much better than our first fight together." purred Natalya softly.

"Let's just say that I know who I'm up against now I've had time to know you and study your fighting skills." muttered Lilac, "It's how I was able to stop Lord Brevon when he dared to make off with our Kingdom Stone."

"I can see that." replied Natalya.

She slowly circled around Lilac as if observing her opponent and looking for a weak spot on her as she spoke. But Lilac turned, keeping her eyes on Natalya as she walked around, keeping her gaze fixed on the woman and waiting for her to attack.

"You know I'm a dragon, therefore you have a better idea on how to fight me. That is a skill that truly makes a great fighter." the crime mistress crooned sinisterly, "You're gifted my child and the only problem you have is that you waste it on such pointless factors of life such as morality, decency and humility. You can use your skills for a greater purpose! Don't squander your talents Lilac! Let us end this battle and start anew. Join me Lilac and once I take over Avalice, I shall let you rule it alongside me! Don't refuse my offer dear child. I don't want to have to kill somebody as special and gifted as you are."

"Well too bad!" retorted Lilac, "You can sweet-talk me all you like you creep! I know you mean NOTHING of what you say! You're just trying to manipulate me! You don't have any fondness for me at all so you can quit pretending already! I can see through your act Natalya and I'm not falling for it!"

"Yeah so stop being so creepy towards her!" yelled Carol, eager to get the chance to trash-talk Natalya and show she wasn't scared of the dragon anymore.

"Lilac will never like you so leave her alone!" cried Milla, also wanting to trash-talk Natalya so she could make herself feel stronger and braver.

"You two brats stay out of this!" roared Natalya, "This is between DRAGONS only!"

She turned back to Lilac, doing her best to keep herself composed.

"No Lilac, I am not trying to manipulate you at all." she said gently, "What I'm saying is the absolute truth. There's a reason you were my favourite student dear..."

"And that's because I'm a dragon. That's the ONLY reason you like me!" snapped Lilac.

"Not just that." replied Natalya, "You were so much like me in terms of fighting prowess and your loyalty to a cause that you reminded me so much of myself. I even considered you the daughter I never had Lilac. There's a reason I was so disappointed that you left me and the scarves. It felt like I had lost the child I always wanted. I didn't just respect you Lilac...I even LOVED you. I love you like you were my own daughter. And that is why I don't want to have to kill you. Please Lilac, stand down and come back to me. It'll benefit both of us! Come on...do the right thing. Come back to me and together, we can both rule over Avalice together!"

Lilac's face was the mask of disgust. She couldn't believe that this vile woman had the nerve to say these things about her. Did she really expect her to believe for a minute that Natalya loved her like a daughter? That made Lilac feel even sicker. The fact she was reminding this monster of herself didn't settle well with her at all and the fact Natalya was still trying to sweet-talk her made it even worse. Lilac glared at Natalya, her eyes burning with anger.

"You sicken me..." she snarled, "You don't love me at all! You're nothing more than a lying, heartless wretch Natalya! If you truly loved me then you wouldn't force me to do all those terrible things you did and you CERTAINLY wouldn't hold my friends hostage just to make me play nice! You only love yourself Natalya and I will NEVER work for you ever again! Working with you was the biggest mistake of my life and I regret EVER meeting you in the first place! I only want one thing from you Natalya, and that's for you to get thrown in jail and never walk free again!"

Natalya looked shocked to hear the dragon girl saying these things to her. It was like Lilac had thrown a dagger into her heart and then twisted the handle to make it worse. Her soft demeanour disappeared and she was now back to being full of rage and hate. Never in her life had she been so angry, especially towards somebody she favoured greatly. Her eyes narrowed down to slits of hatred as she and Lilac stared at each other, waiting to strike.

"So be it..." she snarled, "I thought you were special Lilac...but I was wrong. You're dead to me now. You've given me no choice Sash Lilac...I'm going to have to kill you now."

"Just try it freak!" snapped Lilac, "I stomped over an alien warlord and most of his army and I'm gonna stomp all over you now!"

To everybody's surprise, Lilac reacted faster than Natalya did. The dragon girl curled up into a ball and boosted straight into the dragon lady's stomach. Natalya let out a gasp of surprise as the younger dragon slammed into her and whisked her straight off the stage in a sparkling boost. Unlike her earlier attempt to boost into Lilac, Lilac had hit Natalya square on. The Avalicians watched with amazement as Lilac carried Natalya all the way over into a nearby shop. The two dragons crashed through the window and sent the terrified shop attendant running for her life as shards of glass rained onto the floor. The shop that the dragons had crashed into was a tyre shop, most specifically tyres for motorbikes. Lilac almost laughed at the irony of ending up in this shop. Carol had said just a couple of days ago that she wanted snow-tyres for her motorbike for Christmas. Now she was in a tyre shop. Although Lilac had to appreciate how fortuitous it had been for her to take Natalya into a tyre shop. She had a weapon to use against her opponent. Unfortunately...so did Natalya. As Natalya picked herself up, Lilac picked up a motorbike snow tyre and threw it straight at the woman's head. The tyre hit Natalya so hard that the dragon was knocked down onto her back. She lay still, seemingly unconscious from the attack. Had the tyre knocked her out? Lilac approached Natalya slowly, making sure that she was indeed unconscious. The woman's eyes were closed and she didn't seem to be moving at all. But then Lilac received the shock of her life. Natalya's eyes shot open and she swatted Lilac hard across the face! She hit her so hard that Lilac spun dizzily into a shelf of tyres. She knocked them over, sending the tyres spilling all over the floor. Natalya hadn't been knocked out after all. The tyre had hit her hard in the head but Natalya was not an easy woman to knock out. Her head was throbbing from the earlier onslaught and she had a noticeable bump on her head from where the tyre had hit her. The dragon was going to make sure that Lilac never got close to her head for the remainder of the battle. If Lilac kicked her in the head or whatever, she could easily knock her out or do some serious damage.

Lilac picked herself up, clutching her face in agony. She would never know how Natalya could smack so hard. It was almost like her hands were made of steel. Just as the dragon girl regained her senses, Natalya picked up a motorbike tyre and walloped Lilac across the face with it. The hard, rubbery object sent Lilac careening to the right and spinning dizzily towards the broken window to which she and Natalya had entered the tyre shop through earlier. She hit the foot of the window and tripped over it, falling over face first into the snow outside. The snow was bitterly cold against the cold-blooded Avalician's face. Lilac shivered as she picked herself up and she rubbed her face, trying to get some warmth back into her body. But Lilac should have been ready for Natalya instead of trying to warm herself up. The evil dragon pounced on her from behind and tackled her down to the ground as if she was a cop trying to stop a robber. The two dragons picked themselves up. Or rather, Natalya picked herself up and dragged Lilac up onto her feet roughly by the hood of her jacket. The moment the dragon girl was up on her feet, the crime mistress clenched a fist and slugged Lilac as hard as she could in the stomach. That one punch was enough to knock the wind out of Lilac and have her doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach and trying to catch her breath. But she never got the chance for Natalya refused to relent on Lilac. She kicked upwards, her foot slamming into Lilac's chin and throwing her head backwards. Then Natalya clenched both fists and began rapidly punching Lilac in the torso as if she was in a boxing match with the girl. Lilac tried to block the blows but Natalya was too quick for her. Most of her punches hit at home on Lilac's body and every punch Natalya threw at Lilac seemed to drain away whatever strength she had left. The leather-coated dragon even socked Lilac hard in the mouth, causing her to spit out blood as she was punched, and then Natalya drew her arm back and threw a powerful uppercut into Lilac's face. The attack took the dragon clean off her feet and threw her in a neat rainbow arch through the air. The attack felt like being walloped by a sledgehammer to the dragon girl. Lilac flew over a long distance before finally coming down with a crash onto the ground. The watching Avalicians stared in horror as Lilac came down hard onto the snow. As Lilac stood back up, Natalya curled up into a ball and boosted towards Lilac in a rocketing charge that unlike Lilac's attack, didn't sparkle as she launched it. Natalya charged straight into the small of Lilac's back and whisked her off her feet. She carried Lilac across the terrain until finally slamming her directly into King Dail's stage at the force of a crashing car. The impact left a hole in the stage and Lilac could herself lying on a pile of splinters and broken wood. Carol and Milla both stared in horror at what had happened.

"LILAC!" screamed Carol in shock.

"Oh no! She's really hurt!" whimpered Milla, "That nasty woman's gonna kill her!"

Carol nodded agreeably. She could already see what was going to happen next as Lilac's nefarious opponent strolled towards the dragon girl, a look of death in her red eyes. Natalya smirked confidently at her downed opponent, pleased to see how callously and brutally she had beaten Lilac. The dragon girl had cuts and bruises all over and her clothes had a few tears and frayed parts all over. Lilac strained to pick herself up, trying as hard as she could to stand up. But she couldn't. She was much too weak. She was even struggling to keep her eyes open despite fighting hard to stay conscious. Lilac let a tear of defeat trickle down her face. She had lost. Natalya had won. She was going to die and Carol and Milla would soon join her. She would never live to see Christmas Day dawn tomorrow morning and she'd never get the chance to give her friends the presents she had wrapped up for them. A terrible thought indeed and a terrible time to end her life. Natalya reached into her coat and pulled out the naginata halves she had stored away earlier. She clipped the ends together and pointed the blade of the naginata at Lilac's back. The dragon felt the cold steel of the sharp blade prick into her back. The blade would rise up and then plunge down into her back, starting a journey that would likely go as far as through her stomach on the other side of her body. She knew that it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Natalya…please…no…" croaked Lilac weakly.

Natalya ignored Lilac and she raised the naginata. Deep in her black heart, Natalya was feeling bad that she was having to kill her favourite student. This was the first time in her life she was feeling bad about having to kill somebody. She really did love Lilac and would very much choose to have Lilac as her apprentice over sending the girl to an early grave. But Natalya knew that wasn't going to happen. Lilac had made it very clear that she didn't care about her and she was using her special skills and dragon status for the wrong reasons. She had to die lest she be allowed to ruin the dragon name further. Ignoring her sentimentality, Natalya prepared to thrust the naginata down onto Lilac's back. She would at least spare Lilac a lot of pain and make her demise swift, that was the most she deserved for putting up a good fight. But just as Natalya prepared to finish off Lilac, Carol suddenly reacted. The wildcat wasn't going to let her best friend day, especially on Christmas Eve night. Carol pounced on Natalya and began clawing at her savagely, showing the dragon that she was indeed wild by name and wild by nature. Natalya let out a shrilling scream of pain as Carol began scratching at her face. She was pain-tolerant but because she was so used to having her face protected by a helmet, she wasn't that used to being hit in the face, let along scratched on it.

"DON'T YOU DARE KILL MY BEST FRIEND!" bellowed Carol savagely.

She then began to rapidly punch Natalya in the stomach and solar plexus, hitting her hard and heavily as if she was a heavyweight boxing champion. She even aimed for the bump on Natalya's head, hitting it hard and sending an agonizing flare of pain flaring through the dragon's head. Natalya roared furiously in pain, clutching her head in pain just as Carol spun around and drove her heel straight into the woman's ribs. Natalya was thrown aside by the kick but she wasn't down for long. She picked herself up and roundhouse kicked Carol in the gut, causing her to double over in pain. Then Natalya drew out her claws and gave Carol a taste of her own medicine. She savagely clawed at Carol's face, tearing cuts across the wildcat's cheeks and forehead and she began ripping off bits of her coat as she clawed the cat across her chest and arms. Then Natalya clasped both fists together and swung them both upwards into Carol's chin, knocking the wildcat down onto her back. The wildcat was in agony, her face streaming with blood and her cuts stinging in protest against the biting cold all around. Milla scampered towards Natalya, hoping to help Carol but the dragon was ready for her. She picked up her dropped naginata and walloped Milla across the face with it, knocking the dog onto her side. Natalya then turned around and strode towards Carol. The cat pressed herself against the snow in terror, staring at Natalya in fright. It was like staring death right in the face and death was here for her in the form of a leather trench coat wearing dragon with a hatred of anything not-dragon.

"Stay away from me! Don't you dare kill me or you'll be sorry!" cried Carol feebly.

"I may have some respect for Lilac, Carol Tea, but I certainly won't hesitate to kill you!" barked Natalya, "I've always loathed you since the day I first met you! You vexed me to a great degree when you was a Red Scarf! But now you'll never vex me again!"

She raised the naginata high above her head, the blade aimed directly at Carol's chest. The wildcat had never been so frightened in all her life. She was going to die and at Natalya's blade no less. The green-furred feline curled up into a ball and hid her face in terror, not wishing to witness her final moments. Milla lifted her head up and cried out in despair for her friend.

"No! Please, don't kill Carol!" she cried out.

Natalya ignored the pleading hound and prepared to strike. Carol was going to die at her hands and that was far more satisfying than having to kill Lilac. She had no love for Carol so killing her was a great catharsis factor for her. And when she killed Carol, she would keep her head as a trophy to remember that day. But that day would never come. Suddenly, Natalya found herself being rammed at heavily in the side and thrown away from Carol. It was Lilac! The dragon girl had recovered for long enough to save her best friend from being killed! Lilac had boosted into Natalya and was now carrying the girl far across the terrain and into another shop. This time, she slammed Natalya into the wall of the shop so they didn't crash straight through it. The dragon let out a shriek of anguish as she was slammed hard into the hard, brick wall of the shop. Lilac didn't stop there though. She remembered how she had pinned Lord Brevon against the wall and just whaled on him as hard as she could while he was down. She intended to do the same thing here. She hammered and whaled on Natalya while the woman was pinned against the wall, the evil dragon having no chance of defending herself from the onslaughts.

"DON'T. EVER. THREATEN. CAROL'S. **LIFE!**" Lilac bellowed at the top of her voice.

She continued to pound on Natalya, using her Dragon Cyclone and punching and kicking her as hard as she could until eventually the wall gave away and the dragon found herself being slammed through a pile of bricks and mortar. Natalya flew through the wall and into the other side of the shop, crashing into a counter of jewellery and spilling the contents all over the floor. She was surrounded by broken glass, jewellery and bricks. She was covered in bruises and cuts from the onslaught Lilac had launched on her and for the first time in her life…she was too weak to get back up. Natalya strained to get back up but try as she might, she was too exhausted and beaten to continue the fight. She had lost the Dragon's Duel. This would be stain on her honour that she would never wipe clean. She closed her eyes and sighed. She wasn't unconscious but she was too tired to keep her eyes closed. She lay in the wreckage as Lilac staggered away from the shop, panting and gasping for breath. She trudged slowly over to her friends, smiling weakly as she did so. Carol and Milla greeted Lilac ecstatically, the wildcat ignoring her injuries in order to compensate Lilac for her efforts. Miguel, Lela, Neera, Gong, Dail and Spade were there too, the former five cheering at Natalya's defeat and Spade looking grim about it all. True Natalya had been defeated and he didn't have to kill Dail but he was sure that the dragon wasn't going to stay locked up forever. This victory wouldn't last and he knew it. He had no reason for staying around though so before anybody could do anything about him, Spade ran away, leaving the others to celebrate their victory. Dail decided to let Spade go for he wasn't important right now and he knew that since Gong had arrested the Red Scarves, Spade wouldn't be much of a problem now he was on his own. He instead turned his attention to Lilac as Carol and Milla hugged the battered and bruised dragon.

"You did it! You kicked Natalya's ugly butt!" cried Carol excitedly "Hell yeah! You da girl!"

"You're a hero Lilac! You saved all of Avalice from that nasty woman!" squealed Milla, "Now we can all go home and celebrate Christmas peacefully!"

"Yes…we can. Thanks for the help girls…" said Lilac weakly, "I couldn't have beaten her without you."

"Oh don't sweat it best friend!" said Carol happily, "That's what friends are for!"

"Indeed." agreed Lilac, "I'm so glad…that I've beaten…Natalya…"

Then suddenly, the dragon's eyes closed and she fainted. She fell forward and landed in a heap of snow. Carol and Milla both gasped in horror and turned Lilac onto her back so they could check her for a pulse.

"Lilac! Oh no, is she dead?!" cried Milla worriedly.

Carol, with tears in her eyes, put a hand over Lilac's chest to feel for a heartbeat. It was there, weak but far from dead. Lilac was merely unconscious. Her beatings had been so heavy that Lilac had simply lost the will to stay conscious. She had gratefully allowed her self to pass out so she could have a good rest from the fight. Carol wiped her eyes dry and smiled with relief.

"She's alive…just unconscious bless her." said Carol, "She's had a hard beating Milla. She needs a good rest."

"I'll take her back to the RoyalPalace!" offered General Gong, "She can rest in the Magister's healing spa! That'll get her back on her feet!"

"Cool!" cried Carol happily, "I could use that too. My face really hurts…" she muttered, feeling the cuts on her face that Natalya had inflicted on her.

"We can arrange for you both to have a healing spa session." said Neera Li kindly, "But first, we have one more thing to do."

She strode towards the shop that Natalya had been sent flying into when Lilac had beaten the living daylights out of her.

"Natalya, you are under arrest!" cried Neera, pointing her ice sceptre ahead of her and preparing to freeze the wicked woman.

But the panda girl ended up receiving the shock of her life. All she was faced with was a pile of broken glass, jewellery and bricks. Natalya was gone! Nowhere to be found! She had simply vanished into thin air! Neera stomped the floor in rage. How could they let a criminal as dangerous as Natalya get away like this?! Now she could come back for Lilac, Carol and Milla and try once again to take Dail's life!

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT TO HELL!" shouted Neera angrily, "Natalya's gone! She's fled for it!"

"What?!" shrieked Carol, "But, but, but that's impossible! Lilac beat the stuffing outta her! How could she just walk away like that?!"

"Guess she had enough strength in her to get away…" muttered Dail, "We'll find her though, she can't hide from us. I promise you all now, Natalya will NOT walk freely for long."

"I hope so." said Miguel grimly, "She deserves to be locked up and punished for all her crimes."

"But we don't need to worry about Natalya now. She's weakened. She won't come back for us anytime soon." said Lela softly, "We're safe now."

"Indeed." agreed Miguel, "And tomorrow, we can celebrate Christmas as if nothing's happened and the best part is, we're back with our loving Milla again."

He smiled at his beloved daughter as Milla scampered over to her parents and hugged them graciously. Miguel and Lela hugged her back, pleased that their nightmare was finally over and they could be reunited as a family again at long last. This was by far the best thing about tonight's events and they couldn't be more thankful for Lilac helping them get back together and stopping the one Avalician that had kept them apart for so long.

"Well there's nothing else to do here." said Gong casually, "Let's get Lilac and Carol healed and then we can rest for tonight, ready for Christmas Day tomorrow."

"I couldn't agree more." said King Dail, nodding, "Thank you all for saving my life and protecting Shuigang from that monster of a dragon. My city owes all of you their lives, especially mine."

"The pleasure is all ours Dail." said Neera with a smile, "Sleep well tonight my former ruler. Shuigang's going to have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow."

"And so will Shang Tu and Shang Mu." added Dail.

Neera nodded agreeably. With nothing more to say, she turned around and headed off back to Shang Tu with Gong carrying the unconscious Lilac in his arms and Carol, Milla, Miguel and Lela following him. Dail waved them goodbye as they headed off for home. Shuigang was in for a peaceful night and tomorrow it was going to wake up to another wonderful Christmas and Dail could hardly wait for it to begin…

* * *

Lilac woke up a few minutes later. She had been out for half an hour but now she was finally waking up. And to her surprise, she was in the last place she expected to find herself in, the Magister's healing spa. The warm water of the spa felt very good on her scaly body and was very refreshing compared to the bitter cold of the Christmas Eve night outside. She was feeling much better now she was in this spa. She had no idea how it worked, it just seemed to work like magic on anybody who bathed in it. She had healed in the spa after being brutally tortured by Lord Brevon a few months ago. Now she was in it again, recovering from a brutal fight with Natalya. Her cuts and bruises were already healing and in no time at all, she'd be fully recovered. She was pleased to see that Carol was in the spa with her too, enjoying the relaxing, soothingly warm water and looking much better than she had been a moment ago. Her face was healing well and she looked very happy to see Lilac awake.

"Hi Lilac!" she said happily, "It's great to see you awake!"

"Thanks." said Lilac softly, "You know, after how badly beaten I was earlier, I shouldn't be surprised I ended up here."

She chuckled slightly and Carol chuckled with her.

"Yeah. I guess this is how you got better after Lord Brevon hurt you." said Carol, thinking about how she had seen Lilac charred and lacking in hair in Brevon's base only to then see her again, completely unharmed and looking better again before the final battle had commenced."

"It is indeed. It's a miracle spa really." said Lilac brightly, "Even if I wasn't hurt, I'd be happy to just sit in here and have a good soak. I wonder how this thing heals the bather though."

"Magic perhaps?" suggested Carol, "By the way Little Miss Heropants…"

Carol shifted closer to Lilac until their shoulders were touching each other's. Lilac didn't mind this. She was very close to Carol and was always happy to allow her best friend to sit beside her.

"Thank you. For saving my life back there." said Carol softly, "Natalya was about to kill me and I was so frightened…I really though she was going to succeed. So thank you."

"Oh Carol, you're welcome!" piped Lilac sweetly, "You're my best friend, I'd never let anybody harm you. This is why I fight, so I can keep my friends safe and alive. I know you worry for me when I fight and it looks like I'm going to get killed…but just know that I fight for you, Milla and all my friends."

She and Carol then embraced each other.

"I know, and that's why you're the big heroine of Avalice." said Carol with a smile, "Oh and by the way, I've got some bad news for you Lilac." she added, her face falling as she broke up the hug, "Natalya's body was never found. Neera came in to arrest her but she vanished."

Lilac's face turned pale with horror.

"What? NO! No, no, no…how could this happen?!" shrieked Lilac, "I beat her near to unconsciousness! She can't possibly have walked away from that!"

"I know…but don't worry about her Lilac, she won't be coming for us anytime soon." said Carol reassuringly, "She's badly hurt. She can't fight you in her condition. You'll be safe for now and Dail's going to make sure she gets caught. Natalya won't be free for long Lilac."

"Well that's reassuring." said Lilac with a sigh, "I hope I never see that abomination to dragon-kind again. She disgraces the name of the dragon. Heck, she doesn't deserve to be called a dragon! She's a monster and she deserves to be locked up!" she spat savagely.

"You and me both sister." said Carol agreeably, "But don't worry about her Lilac. Because tomorrow, it's a day that we've been looking forward to for a while now."

"Oh yes…yes indeed." agreed Lilac, beaming happily.

Together, both girls excitedly yelled at the top of their voices: "CHRISTMAAAAAAAAS!"

The hour was late at this point in time and soon, Christmas Day would dawn. And thankfully, Lilac and her friends had lived in time to celebrate it. The dragon girl knew that tomorrow was going to be a very good day and it was going to be a Christmas worth celebrating it. They had fought hard to save Christmas and tomorrow, their efforts would be rewarded. Truly a magnificent end to a challenging chain of events that had transpired that very week…

* * *

_**All's well that ends well. ^^ It's not over yet though. Tune in for the final chapter as Lilac and friends get a pleasant surprise on Christmas Day...;)**_


	9. Christmas Day

_Chapter 9: Christmas Day_

After Lilac and Carol had finished recovering from the brutal fight with Natalya in the Magister's healing spa, the dragon girl's first action had been to pick up Milla, Miguel and Lela and head off for home. After such a long, hard, action-packed night, all Lilac wanted to do now was just sleep off the rest of Christmas Eve night and be prepared for Christmas Day the next morning. But before leaving the RoyalPalace, the girls and hounds had waved goodbye to the Magister and his subjects and thanked him for his hospitality and for helping them defeat the Red Scarves and Natalya once and for all. The Magister's plan had been the winning card in the long game the Red Scarves had played over the past few days so Lilac and friends owed him much for helping them come out on top and save Christmas. Mayor Zao had said goodbye too before parting off back to Shang Mu. He hadn't been there since December the 22nd and he was sure his subjects were missing him back home. He was keen to get back in time for Christmas Day the next morning so he had left in quite a hurry, even though there was a good few hours left before midnight. Now the farewells had been said, Team Lilac, Miguel and Lela left Shang Tu and Lilac headed off for her treehouse. She couldn't wait to show it off to Miguel and Lela once they arrived back there.

After a while of trudging through snow, the Avalicians had made it back to the treehouse and they climbed up the ladder to enter it. Lilac entered first, opening the front door and letting herself in. She wiped her feet on the doormat and took off her winter coat and trousers for the warmth of the treehouse was enough for her to keep warm now. Carol and Milla followed, taking off their winter coats too and Miguel and Lela had a good look on what they had just walked into. The treehouse was sturdy and well built with some very nice furniture and a cosy atmosphere. The two hounds smiled approvingly of the treehouse they had just walked into. For a house built in a tree, it is definitely a very habitable environment and they could already imagine how cosy it must be to live in it.

"So this is where you live Lilac?" asked Miguel brightly, "What a lovely house this is."

"And up in a tree no less!" piped Lela, "I've always loved the idea of a treehouse."

"Thank you Mr. And Mrs. Basset." said Lilac sweetly, grinning at the hound's approval at her place of dwelling, "Milla's been living here with me since you were separated from her and she's been very comfortable here with me and Carol. One could say she's found a new home here."

"I love living here with my friends mommy and daddy." said Milla brightly, an adorable smile spreading across her cutesy, innocent face, "Please can I stay here and live here with them?"

"Are you sure honey?" asked Lela curiously, stroking her daughter's hair affectionately, "I mean, we have our house back in Shang Mu if you want to return there. We're back together so we can go back to our old home and be a family again."

"Yes mommy…but I don't want to leave my friends." said Milla sadly, "I want to stay here with them. I love them both as if they're my sisters. Please may I stay with them?"

Miguel and Lela thought for a moment about the subject matter. On the one hand, they had missed Milla very much since the day they had been abducted by Natalya and separated from her and they wanted nothing more than to return home with their darling daughter in hand. On the other hand, they could see that Milla loved her friends very much and that she wouldn't want to leave them. Could they take Milla home and away from Lilac and Carol? The dragon girl seemed a little disheartened at the thought of Milla leaving but the hounds could tell that she was trying to hide it with a smile.

"If you want to take Milla home, that's fine by me." said Lilac reassuringly, "Really, it is. But I really will miss her. She's like a sister to me."

"And me." murmured Carol.

"I can see that she is." said Miguel with a warm smile on his friendly face, "And that is why I propose this: how about we move into the treehouse with you so that Milla doesn't have to leave either of us?"

Lilac and Carol both stared at Miguel as if he'd just grown an extra head.

"Whoa…you sure about that?" gasped Lilac incredulously.

"Well if you can't spare the room Lilac, we'll just stay at our home…" said Miguel.

"No, no, it's OK. I've got room to spare." said Lilac casually, "You two can have the guest room if you like." she added with a smile.

"I wondered when that room would get used at last." chuckled Carol, noticing how strange it had been for Lilac to build a guest room in her treehouse and yet it had never been used until now.

"Well Miss Lilac, that is very nice of you to offer." said Lela brightly, "And of course, me and my husband accept your offer. This treehouse is now our new home and Milla will get to remain with you and us both at once."

"Indeed so Mr. and Mrs. Basset." said Lilac happily, "Milla gets her friends and her family all at once now you're staying with us."

"Indeed I do!" piped Milla excitedly, "And now that I'm gonna be here with my mommy, daddy and friends, tomorrow will be the bestest Christmas ever!"

"Darn straight!" Lilac agree excitedly.

She allowed herself a moment to enjoy seeing her little sister figure looking so happy again. Milla had wanted to reunite with her parents and now thanks to her, Carol and their friends, her wish had come true. The dragon girl swelled with pride, overjoyed to think that against all odds, she had granted her friend's wish. But more than that had happened this week. Milla not only got her parents back, but she was able to stay with her and Carol while her parents took refuge in the treehouse with them, giving Milla an even bigger family then she had ever had before. And the dog seemed overjoyed at such a turnout. She had wished to see her parents again and now she had gotten more than just her parents back. She was able to stay with her beloved friends too. No turnout could have been sweeter for the young puppy than this one and it made Lilac swell with pride to see Milla looking so happy this Christmas Eve night.

"Well how about that Lilac? You wanted to grant Milla's wish a few days ago and you've done just that...with a bigger turnout than expected!" piped Carol, "I gotta say, Christmas is full of miracles isn't it?"

"Oh yes. Christmas is a time for miracles after all." said Lilac with a wink, "I will say, it'll feel quite interesting having Milla's parents stay with us."

"It'll feel kinda weird if I'm to be honest but eh, as long as Milla's happy." said Carol sweetly, "And we'll get used to having the rents living with us."

"Indeed." said Lilac agreeably, "So...how's excited about tomorrow?" the dragon girl asked enthusiastically.

"I am!" both Carol and Milla said in unison.

"And we are as well now that we're back with our darling daughter." said Lela brightly, "We can have Christmas just like we used to have them again and we won't have to spend it without Milla."

"I know, that's why tomorrow's going to be a great Christmas!" piped Milla excitedly, "I hope tomorrow, we get lots of presents! I love presents!"

"Me too!" said Carol happily, "I especially hope I've got those motorbike snow tyres I've asked for this year. Then I can take my bike for a spin in the snowy forest outside!" It'll be super awesome!"

"Well we shall find out tomorrow won't we?" asked Lilac, winking at Carol as if indicating she knew if the wildcat was going to get those tyres or not.

"Indeed, but the magical Dragon of Gift-Giving won't deliver our presents if we're still awake." noted Miguel, "I think now's a good time to be getting to bed."

"I agree..." yawned Carol, stretching as far as she could in exhaustion, "Let's get some shut-eye. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yep." said Lilac, "And tonight's events have left me kinda pooped. A good sleep's just what we all need. And tomorrow, we'll be well-rested and ready for Christmas."

"Yay!" squealed Milla excitedly, "Oh before we go to bed, I have something I need to do."

"Go ahead then sweetie, we'll wait for you." said Miguel softly.

Milla beamed at her father and then she toddled over to Lilac. She held her arms out and embraced her sister figure lovingly with a kind, grateful hug. Lilac was surprised but grateful to be receiving such a cuddle from her young friend. Lilac returned the hug, the dog wagging her tail in appreciation as she felt the dragon girl's arms close around her.

"Thank you Lilac...for everything." said Milla graciously.

"Aww, you're welcome." the dragon replied modestly, "It was my utmost pleasure to get you and your parents back together. Although it could have turned out better than it did, I'm still very glad to see you so happy and back with your parents at last. Your smile has made my Christmas already."

"Hee, hee! Thank you." said Milla sweetly.

"Awwwwwwwww..." said Miguel and Lela together.

Their hands were over their hearts in awe, touched at the tenderness displayed between the two Avalicians. Milla and Lilac truly were best of friends and it made them more happy and comfortable with their decision to live with Lilac and Carol from now on. They couldn't possibly separate such a wonderful friendship like this one. Lilac and Milla broke up the hug and Milla toddled back over to Miguel and Lela."

"So what will we be doing tomorrow?" asked Milla curiously, "Will we have Christmas dinner?"

"I think we should ask Miss Lilac here since it's her house and she decides how Christmas goes here." noted Miguel.

"Well when it was just me and Carol, we'd open presents in the morning, have some fun and larks together and then have Christmas dinner in the afternoon." explained Lilac, "Then in the evening, we join the gathering of the three kingdoms to pray to the dragon that inspired our current way of life and our kingdoms."

"That sounds fun." said Lela sweetly, "I look forward to celebrating Christmas with you tomorrow then. Now come little Milla, it's time for bed."

"OK mommy." said Milla eagerly.

Only on Christmas Eve night did Milla ever look forward to bed time. She scampered off eagerly with her parents into the guest room that Lilac had mentioned earlier. The dragon girl was fine with this. She supposed Milla would want to sleep with her parents tonight after being away from them for so long. Lilac and Carol headed towards their bedroom to go to bed for the night. But as they walked in, Carol curiously asked Lilac a question.

"Say Lilac...I don't mean to worry you or anything...but...do you think you'll meet Natalya again?" she asked.

"Oh yes...one day." the dragon girl replied with a grim expression on her face, "I hope I don't meet her again but something tells me I haven't seen the last of her. Oh well, she can't spoil Christmas for anyone now. She's much too battered and beaten to do that."

"I know." the wildcat agreed, "And...I don't mean to sound like I'm on her side, because I'm not...but do you think she really meant it when she went on about how much she loved you?"

"I don't believe her for a minute." Lilac muttered bitterly, "She only likes me because I'm a dragon. If I wasn't a dragon, she'd hate me and that appals me. I don't believe she was being serious for a minute. She was just trying to manipulate me, nothing more."

"Too right." said Carol grimly, "Though her obsession with you really was kinda creepy."

"At least she won't be ravishing me anymore..." muttered Lilac, "Anyway, let's forget about that witch in dragon's clothing. Because tomorrow's going to be a good day for all of us."

"You bet! Christmas is gonna kick ass tomorrow!" the wildcat exclaimed delightedly.

"Oh so much it will!" agreed the lilac-coloured dragon.

The two girls then walked into their bedroom and prepared themselves for a good night's sleep. They really needed it after what they had been through tonight. And this very night, they could sleep peacefully and worry-free, knowing that Natalya wouldn't be coming for them. Lilac knew she'd meet Natalya again soon but she wasn't worried about her at all. She'd celebrate Christmas peacefully and in the knowledge that the evil dragon wouldn't be coming anywhere near her and her friends anytime soon...

* * *

As Avalice slept that Christmas Eve night, there was one individual who was still very much awake. An individual who didn't care in the slightest about Christmas and certainly wasn't interested in sleeping the night away so he could receive some presents from the magical Dragon of Gift-Giving. That individual was Spade the Panda. He had returned to the Red Scarves's hideout and was sitting alone in Natalya's throne, his mind swimming with thoughts over what had happened lately. His nefarious leader had come up with a big scheme to make the Red Scarves greater than they ever had been before, even make them leaders of Avalice. Yet her attempts to aggrandize the group had gone completely wrong and all because Natalya was dumb enough to let Lilac, Carol and Milla get involved in her scheme! Because of her stupidity, the scarves were all arrested and Natalya herself had been beaten to a pulp by Lilac and presumably arrested. Natalya's foolishness had single-handedly destroyed the Red Scarves and ruined whatever reputation the group had as a whole. Now they were all in jail and doing time for their crimes instead of being around to commit any crimes. Spade imagined that Natalya was likely very humiliated at the whole turnout. She had planned so much for The Christmas Raid and yet the whole operation had blown up in her face, all because she had to try and get Lilac back into the Red Scarves again. Spade knew that if he had been in his leader's shoes, he would have just killed Lilac already so she couldn't get any opportunities to jeopardize the mission like she had done this very night. Spade supposed that this could be considered the worst Christmas ever for the Red Scarves, though the group as a whole never really celebrated it as they were too busy causing crimes to bother about it. As the red-scarf-wearing panda lay back in Natalya's throne, he wondered what the mauve-coloured dragon was doing now. Likely plotting revenge against Lilac for ruining her precious operation. An utter waste of life as far as Spade was concerned. He didn't see much point in revenge. Unlike Natalya, he didn't let Lilac and Carol's betraying of the Scarves get to him mentally. Their betrayals meant nothing to him but he supposed they meant a lot to Natalya. And now Lilac had not only sold out the scarves to The Magister and his men, but beaten Natalya to a pulp and got her thrown into a cell where she would rot for all eternity. That would easily mean a lot to the Lead Scarf and Spade imagined this humiliating turnout would haunt Natalya until the day she died. He smiled at such a thought. It was the most the heartless she-devil deserved.

"Well, well, well Natalya, look what your stupid Christmas Raid has done." Spade muttered to himself, "All the Red Scarves are arrested, their reputations ruined and you got yourself beaten up by a kid dragon! It's all your fault the Red Scarves are a joke Natalya and now you're paying the price for it."

He was pleased to be able to express his distaste of the dragon now that he was alone in the Red Scarves' hideout with nobody to talk to but himself. He never liked Natalya as his leader. He always thought the dragon was too cruel and harsh in her treatment of the Scarves and he also felt like the whole group was for her benefit rather than for everybody's benefit. He also felt he had been rubbed the wrong way when Natalya had scolded him for being sentimental towards his brother during the whole Lord Brevon event. That kind of cruelty was unacceptable and Spade was glad it wouldn't happen anymore. Natalya was locked up in a cell (or so he thinks) and she was going to stay there until the day she died. She deserved that for being such a dishonourable leader. Spade smiled at the thought of Natalya locked up.

"You were never the kind of leader the Red Scarves deserved Natalya." he murmured, "You were a monster who was only interested in your own gain. Well now you can stay locked in a cell for the rest of your wasted life. I'm going to lay low for a while and then once I'm ready, I shall break the Red Scarves out of prison and leave you to rot. Then the Red Scarves will be united under my leadership and we will become the group that we should be, a group of assassins and thieves united for glory amongst all members. And you won't be around to see me lead the Red Scarves to victory."

Then suddenly, the door to the throne room burst open, making Spade jump about a foot into the air with surprise. Who on Avalice could that be bursting into the throne room? Had somebody decided to check the hideout one last time to make sure they hadn't missed any Red Scarves? But the panda realized that his worst nightmare was what had burst through the doors. Striding towards him, covered in bruises and cuts and her clothes full of tears but still looking very angry was Natalya the Lead Scarf herself! Despite the beating she had received from Lilac, she didn't appear to have any trouble walking. She was walking slowly, much slower than usual, and she seemed to be breathing heavily as if just walking was hard work for her. Spade shrank down into the throne with horror. Had Natalya heard what he had been saying? And come to think of it, how had Natalya escaped despite passing out from her injuries earlier? Had she been playing possum the whole time and had sneaked away unnoticed? So much for his loathsome leader rotting in a cell.

"N-N-Natalya!" gasped Spade, "You...you are...you're not arrested!"

Natalya kept her steely, red eyes fixed on Spade as she approached him. Spade decided to try and save himself by feigning loyalty to the dragon some more. He leapt up off of the throne and bowed down to Natalya.

"It is a miracle to see you're still walking free my leader." he said politely and bluntly, just how he usually speaks to the Led Scarf.

"Oh it'll be a miracle alright Spade...if you survive what I have planned for you!" snarled Natalya, pushing Spade back against the throne and pinning him to it.

"W-what? I-I don't understand..." the panda said shakily.

"Don't talk rubbish with me! You know what you're in trouble for!" barked Natalya fiercely, "I heard EVERYTHING! I just arrived back here after escaping from Shuigang and just as I was about to lie down and rest from my injuries, I hear you belittling me and daring to aggrandize yourself on the other side of the door! You deserve a punishment for this my boy! I thought you were loyal to me and yet you actually desire to take my place and think I should stay locked up?!"

"Natalya, I-I c-can e-explain..." Spade stammered, trying hard to keep himself under control.

"No. You don't need to. I won't fall for your lies again." the dragon growled fiercely, "You deceived me from the very start. And you shan't deceive me again!"

With that said, the dragon proceeded to nerve-pinch Spade in the neck and knock him clean out before the panda could defend himself. The moment Spade passed out, Natalya dragged him away so she could set him up for a horrible punishment. Whether it would kill Spade or not, she didn't care. It would either make Spade think twice before trying to make her believe he was loyal to her or it would kill him and serve him right for daring to take her for a fool. Natalya knew one thing, it would more than make up for failing to kill Lilac tonight. She still desired to kill the dragon girl next time they met but for now, Natalya was content with giving Spade a terrible punishment for his deception. After Spade had been punished, Natalya would then take a nice, long, much-needed rest. She couldn't rescue the Red Scarves and kill Lilac in her current condition. She would lay low for a while after she had recovered and when the time was right, she would free the Red Scarves, find a new place to set up their hideout since their old one had been disclosed to the Magister and then the Scarves would get their revenge on the heroes of Avalice for daring to embarrass them and ruin their glorious Christmas Raid...

* * *

**December the 25th, Christmas Day. At last...**

Christmas Eve night had carried on its final hours, peaceful and silent. Not a single Avalician had been out for the remainder of the night. The whole world had been sleeping peacefully, eagerly anticipating the next morning to arrive. Lilac, Carol, Milla and her parents had been so tired from last night that despite the excitement of Christmas waiting for them, all five of them had slept like logs. While they had been asleep that night, Lilac had dreamt some very pleasant dreams despite the worry of Natalya still being on the loose being on her mind. She had dreamt that Torque, her alien friend who had contributed to the saving of Avalice and its Kingdom Stone during the time Lord Brevon had cause chaos for the world, suddenly paid a surprise visit to Avalice on Christmas Day. It had been a lovely dream and as morning dawned, Lilac was still smiling pleasantly in her sleep about the dream. It was possible that it could come true and the sleeping dragon girl hoped that it would come true.

Christmas Day was finally dawning. The winter sun lifted up into the sky, causing the snow outside to sparkle and gleam like diamonds in a jewel shop. The best celebration of the year for many an Avalician was finally here and it was off to a bright sunny start. It was going to be a Christmas that was truly merry, bright and white this very day with the bright sunshine and the huge piles of glistening snow all around. The morning sun shone through the bedroom window, filling the bedroom with light and chasing away the darkness that brought the peaceful slumber of its occupants. Lilac shifted in her bed and pulled the duvet over her head. She wasn't quite ready to wake up yet and the morning light wasn't doing her any favours.

"Hurrrrrm…noit'znottimetogetupyet…" mumbled Lilac sleepily to herself.

Then suddenly, the dragon girl realized something. The daylight waking her up slightly had woken her mind up enough to allow her to remember one compulsory thing about this morning. Christmas Day was here at last! The Avalician sat up straight in her bed, her face a huge mask of excitement as she fully woke up to embrace the morning.

"It's morning! It's Christmas Day!" exclaimed Lilac excitedly, "Christmas is finally here! All right!"

"Hey Lilac…keep it down up theeeeeeere…" mumbled Carol sleepily from underneath her.

Lilac and Carol slept in a bunk bed and Carol, as usual, was on the bottom bunk. Giggling merrily, Lilac jumped down from the top bunk of her bed and shook her feline friend awake. She was so giddy right now that she felt like shaking Carol until the green-furred cat fell out of bed.

"No time for sleep now Carol! It's Christmas Day at last!" the dragon shrieked ecstatically.

Carol's eyes shot open and she was out of her bed in one second flat.

"Christmas Day?! It's Christmas Day?! Ohmigoshyes!" the wildcat squealed gleefully, "Hallelujah, it's Christmas Day at last!"

"I know right?!" screeched Lilac happily, "I can't believe it, it's finally here again!"

"It seems to come quicker and quicker every year, which of course is a good thing." said Carol brightly, "So shall we wake up the Basset family?"

"No need to love. Milla beat you to it." chuckled a warm, friendly voice from outside Lilac and Carol's bedroom door.

The voice belonged to Miguel Basset. Lilac and Carol opened up their bedroom door to see the Basset family standing outside and waiting to see them. All three hounds had big, cheerful smiles on their faces to see the dragon and wildcat were awake. Milla in particular seemed like she was about to burst with excitement.

"Good morning Lilac! Good morning Carol!" she piped politely, her face displaying an adorable smile that seemed to make everything seem just that little bit brighter than it already was.

"Morning Milla." both dragon and wildcat replied, awed by the puppy's cute smile. It made their hearts swell with pride to see Milla looking so happy on this bright and beautiful Christmas morning.

"You ready to start off Christmas my friends?" asked Milla excitedly, her tail wagging so much that Lilac swore it was going to detach itself from her bottom and take off.

"Ready when you are Milla." said Lilac, winking at her canine friend, "Come on, let's see what the magical Dragon of Gift-Giving has given us all this year."

Without waiting a second longer, all five Avalicians left the bedrooms and walked eagerly downstairs to see their Christmas presents. This very moment had always been the most exciting for the dragon girl, walking downstairs from her room to her living room to see what presents the Gift-Giving Dragon had brought for her and her best friend while they slept that Christmas Eve night. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lilac put a finger to her lips, signalling for everybody to be quiet. The Basset family and Carol held their breaths, waiting to walk through to the living room. The dragon nodded and then she opened the door. The Avalicians walked through the door and into the living room. A glorious sight met their eyes. In the living room, sitting on the red sofa just near the Christmas tree...were five huge sacks, all of them stuffed with presents and each of them varying in colours. There was a purple sack, a green sack, a white sack, an orange sack and a red sack. They were all labelled with name tags so the Avalicians knew which one was for which person.

"Whoa, look at all of them!" cried Carol excitedly, "This doesn't usually happen. I guess the Gift-Giving Dragon wanted to make it REALLY easy to tell which stack of presents is for which person!"

"I like this idea. Very good way of identifying our presents individually." said Lilac approvingly, "OK then, let's get opening them presents!"

It was like the very sentence had an automatic response on the Avalicians. The moment Lilac had said those words, everybody sprang forward towards the sofa and dived for their sacks. Carol grabbed the green sack while Milla grabbed the white sack and Lela and Miguel took the orange and red ones respectively. Lilac had decided to hold back while everybody grabbed their sacks before taking her own purple sack. She sat down on the sofa and took out the first present, watching as Carol and Milla practically spilt their sackful of presents onto the floor. Miguel and Lela couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that this was a traditional thing to happen for them around Christmas time. Lilac imagined Milla, Lela and Miguel in their old home together with Milla on the floor opening her presents, which were on the floor with her, while the parents smiled brightly at their daughter's happiness. She imagined such a scene was why Milla enjoyed this time of year so much. She turned her attention back to her first present and slowly opened it. Carol and Milla didn't seem to take the same approach. They were tearing the wrapping paper off as if it was a contest to see who could open their entire present haul the fastest. The scene made Lilac giggle. It never ceased to amaze her how excitable Carol could be on Christmas morning and it tickled her further to see Milla sharing the same enthusiasm. Carol seemed rather excited with the first present she had opened. She was grinning like a happy young girl as she saw what the wrapping paper had concealed underneath.

"YES! I got those motorbike snow tyres I've always wanted!" Carol squealed gleefully, "Motorbiking in the snow at long last! Yahoo!"

The wildcat show off the cardboard box that had just moments ago been wrapped up in brightly coloured paper. Inside the box were two huge, chunky snow tyres that were designed to fit on a motorbike. It had been the present she had always wanted and now her wish had been granted.

"That's swell Carol!" piped Milla, feeling very happy for her friend.

"That motorbike of yours will definitely travel through the snow easily with those tyres." said Lilac, smiling at her best friend's excitement, "Those are the most top-quality snow tyres in all of Avalice. The Gift-Giving Dragon was really generous this year wasn't he?"

"Definitely!" said Carol brightly, "I can't wait to test them out later!"

"I will say, I'd have personally thought you were too young to drive a motorbike." said Lela. The female hound was quite motherly towards kids of many ages and she couldn't help but let her motherly side kick in on occasion.

"Maybe I am but don't worry about me, I'm a skilled driver." Carol insisted, "I won't get hurt."

"Trust her Lela, Carol's yet to actually hurt herself on her bike." Lilac added.

"Then I suppose there's nothing to worry about." said Lela brightly, allowing her smile to return to her face.

The conversation was forgotten about as the Avalicians continued opening their presents. In a few minutes time, Carol and Milla had opened their entire haul, both girls loving each and every gift their sack had contained. Milla's favourite present in her sack had been a new set of ankle and wristbands that she planned to wear for the whole day. They were the same colour as her current ones but slightly chunkier in size and studded with rubies. The hound thought they were quite beautiful and that they would look very nice on her. Miguel and Lela both finished off their present hauls at the same time. They always preferred to finish things at the same time as one another, even at the dinner table. Miguel's favourite present had been a model sword that he intended to display on the wall of the guest room. He loved swords and had been thinking about starting a collection of them to hang up on his wall at home. He supposed he could start his collection in his new home, Lilac's treehouse, instead. The sword was a katana with a black handle, golden hilt and a blunted edge so the sword couldn't be used for harming anybody. It was for display only. Lela's favourite present had been a new bottle of perfume she had been hoping to try out. It was a new fragrance from Shang Mu that was supposed to make you smell like a bed of roses. Lela had tried out the perfume and she smelt exactly like a bed of roses. The pleasant aroma of the perfume made everybody's nostrils dance with delight. There was only Lilac left to finish off her present haul. She had one present left in her sack and now everybody had finished theirs, they looked over at Lilac to see what her final gift was. The present was cube-shaped and wrapped in purple and gold wrapping, a very fitting choice of wrapping paper for a purple-skinned dragon.

"Looks like you've got one left Lilac. What is it?" asked Carol eagerly.

"Open it up! Let's see what it is!" piped Milla excitedly.

"In our household, we always believed that the last present opened was always the most special of all." said Miguel with a warm smile on his handsome face.

"Well Mr. Basset, maybe that tradition will be very true here." said Lilac casually, "Let's see what my final present is."

Slowly, she tore open the wrapping. Lilac preferred to open her presents slowly as she liked to preserve the joy of unwrapping them for a bit longer. It was why she was the last to finish. Lilac tore off all the wrapping and found herself staring at what the wrapping paper had concealed underneath its thin, papery layers. It was a cardboard box but the box contained something inside. With baited breath, Lilac opened up the box. What awaited her inside was a gift she never would have expected to receive. Inside the box was a perfect replica of the Kingdom Stone. It wasn't the genuine article but it had the shape and beauty of the original stone before it had changed form and become a swirling mass of stars and energy. Lilac took out the Kingdom Stone replica. It felt like the real thing too. It dazzled beautifully now it was in the light of the room. The dragon was speechless with pleasant surprise at the gift and to surprise her even more, she saw that the gem had a card attached to it. She opened the card and read what was written there:

**To Sash Lilac,**

** This gift is a special gift. For it is a gift that only those with a heart that's pure will ever receive. A replica of our ancestors's very own Kingdom Stone is the greatest gift I can ever give out to anybody on Avalice. This gift is a token of thanks for all you have done in keeping Avalice safe and making sure that our people can celebrate a wonderful Christmas. You truly are a credit to the dragon race young woman. This gift is yours and may you treasure it for many years to come. It is a display piece and not a real gem of power my friend, so don't try and use it for extra energy!**

**Signed, The Dragon of Gift-Giving. Merry Christmas to you and your friends.**

Lilac was so touched by the words of the Gift-Giving Dragon that she began to cry tears of joy.

"Lilac? Why are you crying?" asked Milla worriedly.

"Because this is the best gift I've ever received!" cried Lilac happily, "Only a select few Avalicians ever get something as special as this! It's a sign that the dragons from long ago are proud of what we've done and they reward the best Avalicians around with this Kingdom Stone replica! Oh I'm going to treasure this until the day I die!"

"Maybe you could pass it on to your children if you get any." chuckled Carol, winking slyly at her best friend.

"Maybe I could." said Lilac, wiping her eyes dry, "Now, I wonder where the best place to keep this beautiful gift would be?"

Then suddenly, before anything else could happen, somebody knocked on the door. The loud knocking startled everybody in the room and Lilac stood up from the sofa straight away.

"Oh. Who on Avalice could that be?" the dragon mused curiously.

"Maybe some carollers?" suggested Carol, shrugging.

"I hope it's not Natalya coming to get revenge on us!" squeaked Milla anxiously.

"Milla, she has no idea where I live. It can't be her." said Lilac reassuringly, "And besides, she'll be too busy healing from her injuries to come looking for us. Well, let's see who it is."

Lilac strode over to the door and opened it. Her jaw dropped in amazement as she saw who the visitor was. It was a green alien with blue eyes, green hair and a gold and black combat outfit. He had a pair of goggles perched above his head. The alien smiled graciously at Lilac as if he knew her already. Lilac knew that she knew this alien very well.

"TORQUE?!" she exclaimed incredulously.

The mere mention of the alien's name caught Carol and Milla's attention and drew their eyes onto the visitor outside. They were as speechless as Lilac was with surprise to hear who it was.

"Hey Lilac! How's it going?" Torque asked rather cheerfully, waving in greeting at the dragon.

His response was Lilac throwing her arms around him and grasping him in a tight bear-hug of joy. The extra-terrestrial tried his hardest not to cry out as Lilac hugged him tightly.

"Oh Torque, it's so good to see you!" she squealed excitedly, "We were just starting off a wonderful Christmas Day and now you're here to make it more wonderful! I'm so glad you're here! I actually dreamed you would visit us today!"

"That's nice Lilac." said Torque weakly, "Now...can you let me go? I think my ribs are aching!" he chuckled playfully.

Lilac let Torque go but she still seemed very ecstatic to see her alien-friend on Avalice again. The smile of joy on her face didn't seem to want to leave.

"So what brings you here then?" asked Lilac sweetly.

"Well if I'm to be honest, I had been kinda missing you, Carol and Milla so I requested to my superiors of the Coalition of Planets if I could have a day or two to visit you guys. They accepted, seeing that Avalice was very special to me and they didn't see why I couldn't come see you." Torque explained, "I landed my ship somewhere away from your treehouse so that I wouldn't catch your attention. I wanted my visit to be a surprise."

"Well you succeeded on that!" exclaimed Carol, "We never saw your visit coming! But we're glad you're here."

"Especially since my mommy and daddy have found me again!" added Milla happily, "Mommy, daddy, come meet Torque! He's a very nice alien, you're going to love him!" she cried excitedly, taking her parents by the hands and leading them towards Torque eagerly.

The two hounds were slightly taken aback at the sight of Torque and the mentioning of him being an alien several times earlier but Miguel and Lela weren't repulsed, nor intimidated by Torque at all. They knew that if he was a friend of Lilac, Carol and their own daughter's, then he could be trusted and he was a good person. There was no reason to be afraid of him. Torque smiled kindly at Miguel and Lela and held out a hand for them to shake.

"Greetings. So Milla refers to you two as mommy and daddy. I presume you're her parents then." said Torque.

"We are." said Lela, "My name's Lela and this is my husband Miguel. It's nice to meet you um...Torque is it?"

"It is." said Torque, "I helped to save Avalice from Lord Brevon with Lilac, Carol and Milla joining me in the mission. Together, we all managed to save the world from certain destruction and kept Brevon from making off with the Kingdom Stone. Oh...wait, I don't think you know who Brevon is..." he suddenly said, realizing he was likely telling the two hounds about something they possibly didn't even know about.

"No, we know what you're talking about." explained Miguel, "We even watched Lilac, Carol and Milla get onboard Lord Brevon's ship. We would have gone closer so that we could reunite with our daughter at the time but we were forbidden from getting too close by the leader of the Red Scarves."

"I see. And who might he or she be then?" asked Torque.

"We don't want to talk about her." said Lela grimly, "It'll spoil the Christmas mood for us."

"Then you don't need to talk about her." said Torque kindly, "By the way...today you say is Christmas?" he asked curiously.

"It is." said Lilac with a smile on her face, "You literally picked THE best time ever to come to Avalice. Christmas is the best time of the year for us Avalicians and you'll love it as much as we do when you experience it!"

"That sounds great." said Torque brightly, "I've heard about Christmas on many other planets I've visited in my travels but I've never been around to celebrate it on any planet me and the Coalition of Planets have visited in our time."

"Then today's your lucky day Torque." said Lilac enthusiastically, "Stay with us and we'll show you how much fun Christmas truly is..."

* * *

The rest of the morning had been spent having lots of fun and larks. All five Avalicians had taken it upon themselves to show Torque all of their Christmas presents that they had received from the Gift-Giving Dragon. The alien had been fascinated with all the presents, especially the Kingdom Stone replica that Lilac had been given for her bravery and selflessness in keeping Avalice safe from not just Lord Brevon, but Natalya the Lead Scarf as well. Carol had been true to her words from earlier and had fitted her motorbike with the new snow tyres she had gotten in her present sack and had gone for a good ride around the forest, tearing through the snow and riding with expert ease through the cold, frosty terrain. The snow tyres made driving over the snow an easy feat for the wildcat and she had been enjoying herself on her motorbike so much that by the time she had eventually decided she'd had enough riding around, it was time for Christmas Dinner to begin. Right now, all five Avalicians plus their alien guest were sat around the dinner table and about to tuck into a grand feast that Lilac, Miguel and Lela had worked so hard on preparing. Living in a treehouse with just her best friend, Lilac had personally taught herself to cook so that she and Carol could get by easier on what food they had since not every scrap of food in the world could be eaten without being cooked. Miguel and Lela had just made Lilac's job a whole lot easier since they were cooks themselves, something the dragon was very grateful to the hounds for. The table had been laid with a glorious red and golden table cloth with plates for everybody, glasses for drinks, cutlery for the food and Christmas crackers to pull. There was a delicious roast turkey in the centre of the table, steaming hot and waiting to be carved. The turkey was accompanied by bowls containing various other foods such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, peas, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and stuffing. There was a bowl of gravy to pour onto the food. The very sight of such food made everybody feel hungry. Even Torque had to admit that the Christmas Dinner before him looked very nice indeed. Maybe even nicer than the food he was used to. Before any eating was done, the Avalicians bowed their heads and Lilac said a prayer that honoured the dragon that had come to Avalice many millenniums ago and had given them the gift of the Kingdom Stone to provide energy for their planet to survive on. Once the prayer had ended, the six hungry people began eagerly tucking into the delicious dinner before them. Carol was already wolfing her food down as if she hadn't eaten for days, stuffing her face with turkey meat and stuffing. Everybody else ate politely and pleasantly, enjoying every mouthful of their meal as they dined. Torque in particular seemed very much to enjoy his food. He could barely keep himself quiet as he ate.

"Wow, and I thought your planet did some excellent sushi. This is amazing!" he cried happily, "The taste of everything is just wonderful!"

"I know. This is what I love so much about Christmas besides presents and spending time with loved ones." said Lilac, grinning gleefully at her friend's happy face, "Christmas dinner is always so wonderful. Say, wanna pull a cracker?" the dragon asked, picking one up and holding one end out for Torque to pull.

"So we just pull one of these, is that right?" the space warrior asked quizzically.

"Yep, we pull until it breaks and the winner is the one with the bigger end." explained Lilac, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

Squaring his shoulders, Torque decided to pull the cracker and see what happened. He and Lilac pulled hard on the cracker, straining as they fought to win the larger end of the cracker. Carol, Milla, Miguel and Lela stopped eating for a moment so they could see who would win the tug-of-war going on with the dragon and alien sat at the other end of the table from them. Then suddenly, there was a loud bang and Lilac and Torque's arms shot backwards. Lilac had won the battle. She was holding the larger end of the cracker in her hand. Torque just laughed at how fun the whole experience had been. He'd never done something so fun before.

"He-hey! That was fun." he said, "And well done for winning Lilac."

"Thanks." said Lilac, "I'm glad you liked that. You know Torque, I'm glad you decided to come to Avalice. You've truly made our Christmas brighter than it already is."

The dragon smiled sweetly at her friend. Torque looked down at his plate of food for a moment, his face an expression suggesting he was trying not to blush. He thought Lilac had a very beautiful smile but he was shy about showing to Lilac that he felt that. He regained himself and replied.

"Thanks Lilac. I guess I picked the perfect time to come." said Torque casually.

"You sure did!" agreed Carol, "They should call you "Torque, Master of Good Timing" for that!"

The whole table exploded with laughter over Carol's joke. As soon as the laughter died down, Milla picked up her glass, which was full of lemonade.

"Let's have a toast everybody!" Milla piped gleefully, "I love doing this over a good Christmas dinner!"

"Great idea." said Lilac, picking up her glass of lemonade.

All six diners picked up their glasses and very gently clinked them together in a grand toast. As their glasses came into contact, the people holding them all said the exact same words in unison.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

* * *

**_Oh wasn't that lovely my friends? ^^ Despite all the odds, Lilac, Carol and Milla had gotten a Happy Christmas after all. Milla's got her parents back, Lilac and Carol are no longer with the Red Scarves and Torque's enjoying the holiday season with them all! Now this is what I call a perfect ending to a good story...:D_**

**_Well that's it for this festive Yuletide treat of delight. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to entertain you all with more fanfics and stories in the future._**

**_See you later readers. _****_AND A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU! :D_**


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Freedom Planet, Adventure, Drama